PAWTUCKET - Like every minor-league baseball player, it has been Jeff Bailey's dream to get promoted full-time to a major-league baseball team.

But after 11 ½ seasons in the minors, Bailey has yet to get that call.

In fact, it took Bailey 11 years and 961 minor-league games to get his first call-up to the majors. The Pawtucket first baseman was hitting .250 for the PawSox in July 2007, but he was second on the team in home runs (9), RBI (40) and walks (40), and was tied for the team lead in runs scored (42).

"I couldn't believe it," Bailey said. "I was having a very average year and I didn't realize I was hitting lefties as well as I was. That's what they looked at when they called me up, so that has been a point of emphasis for me, to really bear down against the lefties because that's what they called me for this year and last year, and if they need me again, that's what it's going to be for."

Bailey, who was selected to play tonight in the Triple-A All-Star game (the game, from Louisville, Ky., is 7 tonight on ESPN-2) for the first time in his career, along with four other PawSox players, was hitting .301 against lefties, went 1 for 9 with Boston last year, and earned a World Series ring. He has twice been called up briefly to Boston this season, going 0 for 5 with three walks.

This season in Pawtucket, he ranks among the International League leaders in slugging percentage (.596, second), on-base percentage (.403, fourth), runs scored (72, second), batting average (.306, fifth), home runs (23, third) and RBI (62, fifth).

He is batting leadoff for the PawSox for the first time in his career, and he is thriving in his new role.

 "I love batting leadoff," Bailey said. "I've never had numbers like this before. If they want me to try to steal, I'll do that, too, but I told some of the other guys, with left-handed hitters I just stay put and leave that hole open over there for them, and that works out sometimes."

Bailey is hitting .324 with eight home runs against left-handed pitchers.

Bailey is not your typical leadoff hitter, but Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson likes his chances of getting on base early and often.

"We didn't have him identified as a leadoff guy -- [second baseman Joe] Thurston would be the closest we have, and even he's better suited to the number-two spot," Johnson said earlier this season. "But when [Jed] Lowrie and [Brandon] Moss left [both were called up to Boston], we were looking for two things: Number one, a guy who could be selective, or number two, a guy that gave us the ability to be ahead after the first at-bat."

With 44 walks and 23 home runs, Bailey fits Johnson's criteria for the leadoff role perfectly.

"He's not afraid to take a pitch," Johnson said. "When you look at his numbers, he draws walks but he can also generate some power."

Bailey has certainly come a long way since graduating from Kelso High School in Kelso, Wash. In 1997, at 18 years old, he was drafted in the second round by the Florida Marlins.

He began his pro career with the Gulf Coast Marlins. In March 2002, the Marlins traded him to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (Wilson Valdez). Bailey played with the Expos until October 2003, when he became a free agent.

The Red Sox organization signed Bailey on Nov. 7, 2003, and he quickly worked his way up from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Bailey -- along with fellow Triple-A All-Stars Thurston, Chris Carter, Jonathan Van Every and Charlie Zink -- has helped Pawtucket build a four-game lead over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League's North Division.

Pawtucket ranks first in the league in E.R.A. (3.55), runs (519), team batting (.269), on-base percentage (.794) and fielding percentage (.984).

Bailey said that the PawSox believe that they can compete with anybody in the league.