Alex Rodriguez sent the first pitch he saw Friday night in the Bronx over the right-field wall to become the 29th player to join baseball's exclusive 3,000 hit club.

The Yankees designated hitter, who was suspended all last season for his role in a performance enhancing drug scandal, connected on a 95 mph fastball delivered down the middle by Detroit ace Justin Verlander.

Rodriguez was loudly cheered by the Bronx faithful and was greeted by his teammates between the plate and the dugout.

Like his former teammate Derek Jeter, Rodriguez made history by hitting a home run for 3,000. Jeter's milestone in 2011 was honored by the Tampa Bay Rays, who all came out of the visitors dugout to applaud him.

But on Friday night the Detroit Tigers sat in stone silence as Rodriguez rounded the bases.

Before the game, New Yorker Corey Parker also expressed some misgivings about Rodriguez joining the 3,000-hit club.

"You don’t know how much it is justified and how much is tainted, so it’s up in the air. I liked him up to a point, until I found out he was using. But once I found out he was using, it kind of discredited him," he said.

After injuries and last year's suspension, Rodriguez, who turns 40 next month, took nearly six years to go from 2,500 to 3,000 hits -- the longest of the 29 players to reach the milestone.