We were eating dinner last night with the TV on, something my wife hates.

“I want to see ARod’s first at bat,” I tried to explain.

“Why do you care? He’s a cheater,” she replied.

For better and mostly worse, I explained it might have been the most significant moment of the season. And I wasn’t alone.

In the no-surprise department, the Alex Rodriguez show delivered a season-high 4.34 rating for a Yankees game on the YES Network. At its peak, from 8:30-8:45 p.m., coinciding with his first at bat (cheap bloop single), an estimated 756,000 New York households were tuned into the game.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, where ratings have plummeted for the woeful White Sox, the game did a 3.09 rating on CSN Chicago, the second highest of the season after the season opener. The game peaked at a 4.37 rating during the 7:30 p.m. quarter-hour (approximately 152,286 Chicago TV homes tuning in for A-Rod’s first at bat).

As much as he is detested, people love to watch a good villain. And they don’t come any bigger now than ARod.