Brentwood Ace Tapped for Charity All-Star Game

Ryan Jones, a graduating senior at , will take his pitching skills to Busch Stadium this weekend.

He was one of 32 players picked for the SmilesLEAGUE St. Louis Coaches’ Choice All-Star High School Baseball Game. The players come from across St. Louis City and County.

Proceeds from the event will go to three St. Louis groups that try to improve children's health in the St. Louis area.

Jones landed on the team after Brentwood coach Mike Imergoot nominated him.

"It's definitely an honor for him," he said. "He plays the game with an exceptional amount of passion."

Jones finished the season with a 3-2 record and 2.38 ERA. He also tallied two saves. His biggest victory came in early May, when Jones tossed a no-hitter against rival Maplewood Richmond Heights.

Jones plans to attend the University of Missouri and try to walk on with the Tigers baseball team. Imergoot sent a letter to the coach and put in a good word for his player.

"I wish he would've flunked so I could have him again next year," he said jokingly. "He'll be hard to replace."

That's the nature of high-school sports, he said. That fact is made tougher
though because in the 22 years at Brentwood School District, Imergoot has seen players like Jones grow from 5-year-old kids to graduating seniors.

The two all-star teams were picked at random. Jones will play on the green team and his coach for the game is former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson. He played with the team from 2001 to 2003 and with the Tampa Bay Rays before that.

Former Cardinals third baseman Scott Cooper will coach the All-Star Blue Team. He went to the All-Star game in 1993 and 1994 as a Boston Red Sox player.

Three groups will receive the event's proceeds:

• Delta Dental Health Theatre: This theatre is located in St. Louis and offers educational videos on oral hygiene. More than 10,000 children visit the theatre annually.
• Cardinals Care is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to caring for kids. They have distributed more than $14 million to support St. Louis-area organizations since it began in 1997.
• Give Kids a Smile began in 2002 as a way to give modern dental care to children whose families couldn't afford it. The program has hosted 19 clinics, providing nearly 10,000 children with more than $4.2 million in free care.