CHARLESTON, S.C. — He still embraces drama, so it fit that Alex Rodriguez made his 2013 debut — let's face it, a feat some of us thought never actually would happen — to a loud, ultra-friendly crowd at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park last night.
And that the game's first batter, Kyle Wren of the Class-A Rome Braves, decided to put A-Rod's surgically repaired left hip immediately to the test with a bunt down the third-base line. A-Rod, playing for the Yankees' affiliate, lumbered after it and threw late and wide for a Wren single.
"It's something I can tell my kids about 10 or 15 years from now," said Wren, the son of Braves' general manager Frank Wren. "I bunted for a hit against A-Rod."
And after his first at-bat ended with a 5-4-3 double play, A-Rod jogging down the first-base line.
Day 1 of his 20-day rehabilitation assignment lasted just three innings, and it also featured a strikeout looking and another bunt his way (Jose Peraza in the second inning) on which A-Rod didn't even attempt a throw. For sure, he looked bad, and for sure he deserves more time — and will get it, as he is scheduled for another three-inning shift tonight.
It's up to Rodriguez to show that his saga has not yet concluded. To deliver once more on the buildup he has created and keep The A-Rod Tour going.
The plan calls for A-Rod to use all 20 days of his schedule and rejoin the Yankees July 22 in Texas. He said last night felt like "March 1," or a month to go before Opening Day. Yet given the obstacles A-Rod is facing both physically and legally — he could be suspended soon by Major League Baseball for his alleged involvement with the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida, at which point he would appeal — you wouldn't want to spend your life's savings on a hotel room in the Dallas/Fort Worth area three weeks from now.
For sure, Rodriguez is not alone when he speaks of being "intrigued" by what he has left. At the time the Yankees announced Monday afternoon his path back to the majors would begin here, the RiverDogs had about 1,800 tickets sold for last night's game. They wound up boasting of a crowd of 8,255. At one point Monday, they were selling 200 tickets every 10 minutes.
Not too bad for a guy who, the last time we saw him on the field, went 1-for-9 in the American League Championship Series as the Tigers swept the Yankees in four games. He got caught hitting on some female fans during Game 1. Then he found out about his hip injury, and then we found out about MLB's interest in his possible dive back into illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
"Let's be honest," Rodriguez said before the game, "the way that the year ended last year was pretty bloody. We got swept. I got benched and pinch-hit for, and I have no one to blame but myself because I stunk up the house, that's for sure.
"So with that, you think about that for eight or nine months, and that's enough to fuel you to come back and hopefully be a player that can help the team and be an impact in the middle of our lineup."
His rehab schedule is fluid, as he and the Yankees will work to get him in places without rain.
"I'll have a pretty good idea how I'll feel after maybe a half-dozen games or so," he said after the game. "But today was pretty good."
He seemed in good spirits both before and after, joking around with reporters and noting he never had before been to South Carolina. He kiddingly chided Wren for "picking on me," mentioning he is almost 38. Wren, by the way, said he formulated his plan on Monday night, the moment he heard he would be playing against Rodriguez, and that he did have A-Rod's potential physical vulnerability in mind.
A-Rod could laugh off last night and maybe tonight, too. If he wants more moments like these, however, with a city anticipating his arrival, he will have to provide some positive dramatics on the field. The type we haven't seen for a while now.
kdavidoff@nypost.com
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