I think it was just his impact those last 2 months that just endeared him to Card fans. He took over for McGwire and never missed a beat and was probably better. Think he hit nearly .350, 16 homers or so with nearly 50 RBI. Plus it seems like he killed the Braves in the NLDS before the team ran into the legend of Mike Hampton in the NLCS.
They interviewed him during the game last night and he was gold. Said some of his minor leaguers asked him about his exit velocity when he played. He said, "Sons, when I played you either knocked the hell out of it or you didn't."