A-Rod ‘Nervous’ about his Debut as DH

By Cheri Cheng - 04 Mar '15 12:02PM

Alex Rodriguez will make his spring training game debut for the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Although it is an exhibition game, A-Rod admitted that he is nervous to be on the field.

"I'll be a little nervous, for sure," Rodriguez said according to the New York Post. "I haven't been in front of our fans for a long time. I'm excited about that. I have some challenges ahead... Ready to go. Not sure how ready, but I'll give it a shot."

"I think people are curious how he's going to do," coach Joe Girardi said. "There's probably a lot of people who are pulling for him to do well."

Despite the drama between Rodriguez and the organization as well as the fans, the 39-year-old slugger still got a strong welcoming. During the workouts, batting practices and on field exercises on Tuesday, Rodriguez got the most cheers out of all the active Yankees players there. He also stayed and signed autographs for nearly 20 minutes.

"It's certainly felt good," A-Rod said in regards to the reception. "It was surprising a little bit, for sure. I didn't know what to expect."

Girardi, however, was not too surprised at the warm welcoming.

He said, "Everyone's going to look at it differently/ Some people are going to look at: 'He was caught, he paid his time and now he's back, and he's a Yankee, and we're going to cheer for him.' Some people say, 'You know what? I might have a hard time cheering for him.' And some people are just fans and they fall in love with the player and no matter what they do, it doesn't matter. I'm not really surprised [by the cheers], necessarily. He's one of the guys that has been here a long time. He was part of our championship in 2009. And I think people still understand that."

Wednesday's game versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Steinbrenner Field will be televised live. Rodriguez, the designated hitter, will bat second behind Didi Gregorius. The game will be his first in a Yankees uniform since Sept. 2013.