TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez got easily the biggest ovation out of all theYankees when he was introduced before Thursday's spring training game against the Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
And if he keeps doing what he did in his first at-bat of the 2016 season, the cheers will never end.
Rodriguez rocked a long home run to left field off Philadelphia left-hander Adam Morgan to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The blast game after Morgan missed inside for a ball. It was A-Rod's first swing of the new year.
As the ball traveled high in the air, Rodriguez trotted around the bases slowly, sure it was gone. Everyone else knew it, too. He returned to the dugout to high fives and hugs.
A-Rod was slated to get at least three at-bats Thursday, according to manager Joe Girardi.
Rodriguez hopes to follow-up his surprisingly productive 2015 campaign in 2016.
Last year, A-Rod hit 33 homers, drove in 86 runs and batted .250. The designated hitter — alongside first baseman Mark Teixiera — helped carry the Yankees' lineup, which scored the second most runs in baseball, through July. But, Rodriguez has said, fatigue led to a down August and, despite regaining his energy, simple ineffectiveness marred his September.
Less hoopla surrounds Rodriguez this time around, however. He's a year removed from his full-season performance-enhancing drug suspension. Since then, Rodriguez has been a model citizen, staying out of negative headlines while becoming an elder statesman inside the Yankees' clubhouse.