Ed Delahanty in Philadelphia's All-Star All-Timers Game
Bat by his side, Ed Delahanty draped himself with an Irish flag in the clubhouse and poured himself a shot of whiskey.

"This was for all those people down on 2nd Street and those in Fishtown and West Philly," Delahanty said with a grin. "Irish pride, all the way."

Moments prior, the Hall of Famer drove in a walk-off game-winner lifting the Phillies All-Stars to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Athletics All-Stars at Citizens Bank Park in the inaugural Philadelphia All-Time All-Star Game sponsored by the Philadelphia Baseball Review.

"It was great to be out there with so many talented guys and fellow Hall of Fame players," Delahanty said. "A really cool experience, for sure."

Deadlocked with one out in the ninth, Roy Thomas drilled a Bobby Shantz full-count fastball to the wall in right where Danny Murphy leaped making an acrobatic catch before slamming into the padding and fumbling the ball to his feet. Delahanty then lined a single past an outstretched Frank Baker down the left field line to score Thomas.

"Just couldn't hold it, the ball bounced around in my glove right before I slammed into the wall," Murphy said. "Tough to lose a game like that, especially when the winning run scores on a play that you're involved with."

Delahanty finished with two hits, including a two-run home run in the opening frame, to secure the Most Valuable Player award. Dick Allen was the only other player in the contest to collect a pair of hits.

Murphy helped the Athletics even things in the second, launching a two-run shot to left to even the contest at 2-2. Mike Schmidt homered in the third to give the Phillies a one-run advantage, but the Athletics answered with Topsy Hartsel lining a pinch-hit single to right scoring Mickey Cochrane who reached earlier in the frame via a walk.

Jack Clements took Eddie Rommel deep in the fourth and things remained even until Delahanty's single in the ninth.

"The ball to Thomas was out and over the plate," Shantz said. "It was a mistake and he made me pay for it."

Jim Bunning recorded the win, striking out the side in his one inning of work. Athletics starter Eddie Plank surrendered six hits and three runs before failing to get out of the third inning.

"Tough offense over there, the middle is ridiculous to pitch to," Plank said.

Steve Carlton started for the Phillies, surrendering two runs on three hits over three innings.

The contest was simulated using Imagine Sports' Diamond Mind Baseball software.

The rosters and startling lineups were based entirely on a player's  Fan Graphs WAR from their career only in Philadelphia. Popularity wasn't considered. This process eliminated bias in selecting the rosters and provided clear reasoning as to why Player A was involved in the contest and not Player B. The starting nine was based entirely on best WAR at the position while the reserve slots went to the leftover players with the highest WAR in franchise history, regardless of position.

Full Philadelphia Phillies roster |  Full Philadelphia Athletics roster

Box score
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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