Projo Sports Blog

By ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

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 (tonight at 7, from Louisville, Ky., 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.

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 Tags  Jeff Bailey Pawtucket Red Sox

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