On a day when Bernie Williams missed roll call, he also was caught catnapping on the bases.

Williams, though, didn’t squander his final chance to soak up the crowd’s love and help the Yankees snatch a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Kansas City in the home opener.

The longest-tenured Yankee redeemed himself after getting doubled off second base in the fourth, lining an eighth-inning RBI single to left that closed the deficit to one run. He later scored the go-ahead run on Derek Jeter’s clutch three-run bomb.

Williams was in the clubhouse during the top of the first yesterday, oblivious that the bleachers were chanting his name in their time-honored tradition. The former center fielder started at DH and was preparing for the game inside.

“I was not aware,” said the 37-year-old. “I thought they were going to do Johnny [Damon] instead.

“I remember Shawn Chacon coming into the clubhouse and sort of like saying, ‘Hey, they want you down there to say hi.’ By the time I went down, it was already calm.”

When Williams stepped to the plate in the second, it sounded like a second military flyover had graced Yankee Stadium. The jet-engine reception from a sellout crowd of 54,698 honored Williams, a Yankee since 1991 whose return this season wasn’t a given. The free agent elected to re-sign despite yielding the center-field job to Damon.

In the fourth, though, the crowd was stunned when Williams was doubled off second base on Gary Sheffield’s popout to shallow left. Shortstop Angel Berroa’s quick throw to second nailed him to end a bases-loaded, one-out threat.

“He was a little embarrassed when he walked off the field,” Torre said. “That’s when you hope you play center field, so you can walk the other way.

“I missed it. Sheffield popped up, I looked down, and everybody was coming off the field.”

One of the historic knocks against Williams was that he never had good baserunning instincts. Although he briefly argued the call (replays appeared to be correct), he accepted the blame.

“My fault,” he said. “Obviously a brain cramp.

“There’s no way I should even try to make it that close. I had nowhere to go. It was just a mental mistake.”

Williams lashed lefty Andrew Sisco’s 1-2 fastball to left for an RBI single with one out in the eighth, proving plenty of life still remains in his bat.

“I was hoping I could do something to redeem myself after that play, and I was fortunate enough to get it done . . . today,” he said.

Additional reporting by George King.