The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land.
"I didn't know if it was going to be fair or foul. I was so relieved it stayed fair," Rodriguez said. "I hadn't hit one in so long."
After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a hug from Derek Jeter.
"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run. I tried that for four or five days," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22d player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas.
Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year.
"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a destination."
Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the bench.
"I was a little embarrassed. I felt like we were in high school. All the guys coming out to shake my hand in the first inning," he said.
The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days after he hit No. 499.
"You wish you could pay each fan back by shaking their hands, but all I could do is hit a home run and win a game," he said. "They wasted a lot of Kodak film on me this week, I'm just glad I was able to pay them back."
The All-Star third baseman also became the third player to accomplish the feat as a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth hit his 500th at Cleveland Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at home against Baltimore May 14, 1967.
Rodriguez's 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer games to reach the milestone: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).
