ST. LOUIS (KMOX)-By the time 50 of the area’s best high baseball players play in the PNC Bank High School Baseball Showcase presented by Rawlings at Busch Stadium on June 18th, they may have already had the experience of a lifetime.

For the first time in the event’s three years, the players selected this year will take part in a YMCA Inclusion Service Program, and play ball with special needs children at Mike Matheny’s Catch 22 accessible baseball field in Chesterfield.

Matheny, the Cardinals manager and a former manager in the Showcase,  says it’s likely to be a life-changing experience for everyone involved, “That’s something that the disabled kids will never forget but I think even more importantly, or equally as important, the baseball players will see how much just giving back a little bit, how much that means.”

The 50 players representing Missouri and Illinois will be nominated by coaches and selected by a committee of sports writers.

Cardinals’ assistant batting coach John Mabry will coach one team. Former Cardinals’ outfielder Chris Duncan the other.

The clinic will be at 10 am on June 11. The Showcase is at 1:15 on June 18 at Busch Stadium. It will be preceded at 10 am by a skills challenge and home run derby.