Kevin Phillips of UCHS Is a Local All-Star

Thirty-five graduating senior baseball players, including 's Kevin Phillips, from St. Louis area public high schools had the opportunity to compete against one another on the field of the 2011 World Champions during the Delta Dental’s Smiles LEAGUE Coaches’ Choice All-Star Baseball Game.

The game was played June 17 following the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals baseball game. The all-star lineup included high school seniors coached by Cardinals alumni players Scott Cooper and Kerry Robinson.

Admission to the game was free. Each of the all-star athletes was selected by their school’s coaching staff. Players from the participating high schools were randomly combined to form the “All-Star Blue Team” and the “All-Star Green Team.” 

The "All-Star Blue Team” was coached by former Cardinals third baseman Scott Cooper, a St. Louis native who played high school baseball for the , spent seven seasons in the major leagues and was a member of the American League All-Star team in both 1993 and 1994. 

The “All-Star Green Team” was coached by former Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson, who is also a St. Louis native. Robinson was a three-sport athlete for the Hazelwood Spartans and went on to play for the Tampa Bay Rays and was a Cardinal from 2001 to 2003, appearing in the post-season in 2001 and 2002. 

The event got underway with a Home Run Derby competition.

Participants were selected by Cooper and Robinson based on statistics from the 2012 high school baseball season and included:

• , U City; 
• Ed Pilgrimm ; 
• Lucas Tamaran, L; 
• Clayton Evans, ; 
• Brandon Harrell, Cleveland Junior Naval Academy; and 
• Sean Ullrich, . 

Each player was pitched 10 balls by former Cardinals pitcher Scott Terry and scored according to distance.

The game was announced by Jennings High School’s head baseball coach Lance Hash and Gerald Quincy Jones.  

In addition, representatives of Delta Dental continued to promote its new oral health initiative designed to help create a tobacco-free generation of healthy kids. St. Louis native and Cardinals David Freese is the spokesperson for this campaign. Each player signed a tobacco-free pledge.

To learn more about the Smiles LEAGUE Coaches’ Choice High School Seniors All-Star baseball game, visit www.smilesleague.com.