NEW YORK — Beloved Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer made his first appearance of the season at Yankee Stadium Thursday. The 61-year-old has been battling brain cancer.

Murcer has his hair and his sense of humor back. Actually, he never lost his sense of humor. He joked about his current treatment regimen — steroids.

"I guess I shouldn't say that," he said.

Murcer said he is "cancer-free" after a biopsy in March, but added, "I had some setbacks after my biopsy and I'm still not 100 percent."

Murcer will announce tomorrow's and Sunday's games for the YES Network and work next week in the network's studio in Stamford, Conn. He had hoped to call games in spring training and make it to the Bronx for Opening Day but was unable to do so because of his illness.

"I haven't been as strong this year as I was last year," he said. "But everything's all right. Just glad to be here."

Murcer, who turns 62 on May 20, spent all or part of 13 seasons in two stints with the Yankees and retired as one of their most popular players.

Murcer was supposed to do 50 games for YES this season, but that schedule has been reduced. He is planning to cover the Yankees' mid-June series against the Astros in Houston. He joked of the convenience of working in the same city as the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the top facilities in the nation, where he has been getting his treatment.

"There's no cure for my cancer," he said. "They just try to treat it as a chronic disease and keep it in check. I'm off the chemo now and I'm in a clinical trial. So far so good, you know?"