Outfielder Xavier Paul, a 2003 Slidell High graduate, had a dream come true Thursday when he was called up to the majors by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Perennial superstar Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for using a banned substance, and that paved the way for Paul.

Paul, whose older brother Matthew is a scout for the Dodgers, was playing for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, who were on a road trip in Oklahoma City when he got the news.

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Paul, who attended Slidell his junior and senior years, said he found out early on about the promotion.

“They called me around 3:30 in the morning, and it was my manager (Tim Wallach). He told me I was going up,” Paul said. “I was in shock.”

Paul said he stayed up for a little bit before going back to sleep and had to wake up once more to be at the airport for a 6:30 for a flight to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers were playing the Washington Nationals.

He said he called his parents, Xavier “Skip” and Marlene Paul of Slidell, to tell them the news.

“I think my dad was in shock,” Paul said. “I had to reassure him that I wasn’t messing around. To finally get that opportunity is exciting, and I’m happy to be here.”

Paul said his dad coached him when he was younger and said that with all the work they put in, it’s like his dad going up, too.

Paul’s father said it was exciting news.

“We were ecstatic as a family,” he said. “It’s a dream we’ve been working on since he was little.”

Mom Marlene said she was speechless when her son called.

“I’m just excited, just very, very excited. Choked up. We knew the day would come, we just didn’t know when it would because there are so many great players,” Marlene said.

Paul’s high school coach, Sam Abney, said he felt Paul would get called up at some point. Abney said Paul is the first player he ever coached to make it to the majors.

“He got it because of somebody else’s mistake, but he was going to get it eventually,” Abney said. “Now he has to step up, take advantage of it and make it real hard (for the club) to send him down.”

Paul was wearing the Dodger blue by about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. In the sixth inning, his number was called for a pinch-hitting appearance. Paul was about to make his major league debut in front of a crowd of 37,074, the biggest he had ever faced.

“I was on cloud nine for the entire game even though I had been up since five that morning. When they announced it was my debut, I got a pretty big hand,” Paul said.

He said he was nervous waiting on deck but was fine once he got into the batter’s box.

“I had a few butterflies while waiting on deck, but once I stepped in the box and looked out to the mound, it was just baseball,” Paul said.

He added he may have been a little over anxious because he swung at two fastballs that were borderline strikes.

With the count 2-2, Paul made a bid for his first major league hit. He took a Jordan Zimmerman offering and hit a ground ball up the middle, but Washington shortstop Christian Guzman slid, fielded the ball and made a glove flip to second baseman Anderson Hernandez, who made a relay throw to first baseman Nick Johnson for a double play.

His at-bat came in No. 3 on ESPN’s Top 10 plays for Thursday. Paul talked about his bad luck.

“I hit a ball up the middle and the dude (Guzman) robbed me,” he said. “It made the ESPN Top 10 plays. I got on the plays in my first at bat even though I was on the wrong side of it.”

Paul did well in Triple-A for the Isotopes before leaving the team. In 25 games, he hit .344 with two home runs and 14 runs batted. He posted nine doubles along with two triples, while scoring 10 runs. Paul was successful stealing eight out of 10 times.

Paul was a fourth-round pick, 121st overall, in the 2003 draft. He had a scholarship offer to attend Tulane but decided to go pro.

The Dodgers wrap up a three-game series with the Giants this afternoon at home. They have an off day tomorrow before embarking on a six-game road trip beginning with three in Philadelphia and continuing next weekend in Florida. Los Angeles returns home to host the New York Mets on May 18.