Imagine spending 13 years in the minor leagues before getting a chance to play a full season with a major league team.

If you can’t, just ask outfielder Darnell McDonald. Although he hasn’t spent 13 complete seasons in the minor leagues, he has come pretty close. Before last season, which he played with the Red Sox, McDonald played in only 47 games with a major league team.

McDonald was drafted in 1997 and began playing in the minor leagues in the 1998 season. He has played with three major league teams before (Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins and Cincinatti Reds), but this past 2010 season with the Boston Red Sox was the first in which he played almost the whole season.

Last season, he was called up when Jacoby Ellsbury injured his ribs. McDonald was quite successful, but not successful enough to maintain his spot on the roster when Ellsbury returned. Due to Ellsbury re-injuring his ribs, McDonald saw major league playing time once again.

Like McDonald, Ellsbury also made his MLB debut due to an injury to a Sox outfielder. Ellsbury, on the other hand, had spent less than two full seasons in the minor leagues.

The what seemed to be a never-ending minor league career never discouraged McDonald. He says (in an interview with mlb.com) that what he tries to do is “appreciate every day — enjoy every day.”

He is also quoted in the same interview as saying, “You always tell people that everything happens for a reason and this and that, but last year definitely proved to me that everything does happen for a reason.”

Not only does this show McDonald’s patience that he carries with him from season-to-season, but also the hard work and dedication he has put in to deserve his spot on the roster, which is expected to be Boston’s fifth outfielder on Opening Day.

So, if you ever seem discouraged and think the opportunity you’ve been waiting for is never going to come, just think back to Darnell McDonald and the 13 year journey he has been on.