BALTIMORE – On a day originally designed to honor his performance on the baseball diamond, Rafael Palmeiro was simultaneously cheered and jeered yesterday for his dishonorable activity off the field.

Four days after returning to the Baltimore Orioles following a 10-day suspension for steroid use, Palmeiro played baseball for the first time, going 0-for-4 as the designated hitter, which sheltered him from the 95-degree temperature and the heat of the fans at Camden Yards, many of whom booed when his name was announced during pregame introductions.

The response was more animated when Palmeiro walked to the plate in the first inning.

Many fans stood and cheered in a display of forgiveness to a longtime contributor to the Orioles. Others booed loudly, angered that Palmeiro has yet to explain how steroids were detected in his system only a few months after he wagged his finger at Congress in March, vowing before a congressional committee that he never used the performance-enhancing drug.

Many of those remaining in the crowd of 30,954 began chanting “Raffy! Raffy!” as he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning. Facing closer Miguel Batista, Palmeiro sent a routine fly to right field, the only time all afternoon he hit the ball out of the infield.

Upon being suspended by Major League Baseball for steroid use on August 1, Palmeiro, 40, insisted that he did not know how the drug got in his body. He has not addressed the topic since returning Thursday, saying that his attorneys advised him to refrain from comment until Congress concludes its investigation of his case.

Palmeiro was supposed to be honored in a pregame ceremony yesterday. The celebration was designed to salute his accomplishment of becoming the fourth player in major league history to amass at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, a feat he realized on July 15.

But the ceremony was called off, at Palmeiro’s request, soon after he began his suspension.

Orioles interim manager Sam Perlozzo gave Palmeiro three days off before putting him in the lineup for the first time. The move enabled the slugger to regain his baseball skills, and settle into an environment unlike anything he ever experienced.

“His priority was to get this straightened out,” Perlozzo said yesterday. “He’s gone through two-thirds of that phase; now his next priority is playing on the field.”

In his first at-bat, Palmeiro drew a walk. As he headed toward first base, more fans cheered than booed.

Baltimore fans have a reputation for forgiveness: They welcomed back Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Lewis after he stood trial for murder in Atlanta in 2000, and they forgave Ravens running back Jamal Lewis for his part in a drug deal that forced the running back to serve a prison sentence this summer.

For that reason, Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons expected a mixed reaction to Palmeiro’s return.

“A lot of cheers, probably some boos mixed in. Understandable,” Gibbons said before the game. “I think overall it will be better than worse. I’ve seen a lot of support.”

David Williams, 50, wore a black Palmeiro T-shirt he bought outside the stadium before the game.

“I don’t condone Raffy for the fact that he cheated, but the fact that he’s paying the penalty and all that, he should be forgiven,” Williams said.

Palmeiro won’t play today in Oakland, Perlozzo said, but he expects him back in the lineup Tuesday. Gibbons said Palmeiro can probably anticipate harsher treatment in Oakland.

“Obviously, on the road it’s going to be a little bit rougher for him,” Gibbons said. “I think it’s good for him to come back today and hear some of the cheers.”