Although he has been plagued with scandal and missed all of the 2014 season after being suspended for using performance enhancement drugs, Alex Rodriguez has reached a career milestone, passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list as No. 4, according to USA Today.

ESPN reports that even before he hit the 661 milestone, Rodriguez has been treated with a lot of disrespect in New York, constantly getting booed and disparaged by fans in the stands.

They expected so much out of him, considering his gigantic salary when he arrived in New York, which was bought out from his days in Texas.

But all that changed yesterday when he belted that game-winning home run -- fans cheered loudly for a curtain call after he went into the dugout. He obliged them, mild-manneredly.

"It's been a long time,'' Rodriguez told ESPN. "I actually thought the days of curtain calls for me were long gone. A year ago today, I never thought I would ever get a curtain call or be hitting in the middle of the lineup for the New York Yankees. I've said all along: The league, the Yankees, the fans -- nobody owes me anything. I'm just so grateful to be playing baseball.''

Since his PED-related suspension last year, fans have really given him a hard time. But as Yankee Manager Joe Girardi pointed out, sometimes athletes have to earn the respect of fans again and move forward. 

"There have been other guys who went through suspensions and troubles and did things that turned the fans off at times,'' Girardi told ESPN. "When you're productive, you kind of re-earn their respect and they pull for you. That's the bottom line -- not just in our sport, but in all sports. How Alex would be received really came down to how productive he was going to be. So far, he's done a really good job.''

Rodriguez now has three other milestones to hit before he can be crowned home run king of the MLB.

Next on the list is the Babe Ruth record of 714, then Hank Aaron's 755 and, of course, Barry Bonds' 762. Bonds was another player who was plagued with a PED scandal, which eventually led to his removal from the MLB because no one would sign him to a contract.