The tributes to Cal Ripken Jr. and the Iron Man streak didn’t mention the night Cal ended his 2,632 consecutive game streak in baseball games against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept. 20, 1998 ( “Orioles blast 3 straight homers to beat Padres, 7-5, and complete sweep,” Sept. 3).

I happened to be there. As the O’s took the field with Ripken sitting on the bench , the entire Yankees team lined the front step of their dugout and in unison raised their caps in salute. Across in the O’s dugout, Cal raised his cap back. It was a lovely, classy, sincere moment for Baltimore and for New York and for baseball.

And underscoring it all was that the consecutive games record Ripken had broken belonged to Lou Gehrig and he was a Yankee.

— Stan Heuisler, Baltimore

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