Alex Rodriguez hits single in exhibition return to plate

Disgraced drugs cheat Alex Rodriguez was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos as he hit a single in his first exhibition game at-bat since returning from a performance-enhancing scandal.

The New York Yankees slugger hit a two-strike single to left field Wednesday in a spring training plate appearance. He also walked and hit into an inning-ending play in the Yankees` 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I am just feeling really good that I get to play the game I love," said the 39-year-old Rodriguez. "I was happy I made contact."

When Rodriguez walked to the plate for his first bat, he heard mainly cheers but mixed in with those was some noticeable booing from the crowd of 9,600 at Steinbrenner Field. 

Rodriguez was among more than a dozen players suspended as a result of the Biogensis clinic scandal uncovered in 2013, which saw steroids and human growth hormone distributed to players.

But "A-Rod" received the longest ban, in part because of attempting to impede Major League Baseball`s investigation of the matter.

Rodriguez, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, was originally given a 211-game ban but it was later reduced to 162 games, the entire 2014 campaign.