Friday’s Opening Day game at Yankee Stadium marked the beginning of Josh Donaldson’s 12th season in Major League Baseball.

It’s safe to say he’ll never forget how year 12 started, as the Yankees’ recently-acquired third baseman delivered the walkoff single that launched his new team into a euphoric eleventh-inning celebration.

“It was nice, for my first game here, to be able to help the team win,” Donaldson said in his first Yankee postgame interview. “The walkoff is going to stick out, but I think the team win, the team resiliency, is going to lead to good things in the future. I couldn’t ask for much more than that.”

Donaldson finished his Yankee debut 2-for-6 with a pair of singles up the middle, one of which knocked in the winning run. Last year he posted his lowest wRC+ since 2018, and if Friday’s lineup was any indication — the 36-year-old started in the leadoff spot for just the eighth time in his career — he’ll be asked to bounce back in a meaningful way. Knowing this, Donaldson says the bright lights of New York will help him get ready for every game.

“The energy in the stadium, the atmosphere, was pretty electric,” he noticed. “It doesn’t get any bigger than this right here. It’s a good feeling to be in an environment where there’s an expectation to win. It’s always fun playing in these types of games.”

Ingratiating himself to his new teammates (and his new city) so quickly will certainly make things more fun for the outspoken Auburn Tiger. When he came to the Yankees this offseason, Donaldson had a well-known beef with Gerrit Cole that the two quickly squashed. Still, Donaldson has a reputation that precedes him, and the easiest way to minimize that is through the almighty power of winning.

“It’s always nice to deliver in the clutch,” manager Aaron Boone said after Donaldson’s walkoff. “I thought he had some really good at-bats today, and obviously finished off with a really good one. That’s gotta be a great feeling, coming over and walking them off in such a special setting. Opening Day, Yankee Stadium, against the Red Sox, that’s something I’m sure he’ll remember.”

Donaldson got a glimpse, right away, of the type of game the Yankees played a lot of in 2021. There were exciting bursts of offense, particularly via the home run ball, but there were also spells where the hitters left runners on base or went completely silent, leaving the bullpen to carry a huge chunk of the weight. To come back multiple times after the Red Sox took leads showed the fresh face in the clubhouse what type of mettle his team has, even if it’s not always pretty.

“I felt like we showed some resiliency today,” Donaldson said. “We kept trying to grind out at-bats, and we did a good job. Our bullpen kept us in the ballgame.”

It’s a long season, but one that is off to a good start in the Bronx. If the borough’s new third baseman keeps turning in the types of performance he did on Opening Day, the Yankees could make his 12th year the sweetest of the dozen.

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