By Charlie Laughtland
BDA blog editor

These playoffs, the Rally Squirrel is taking center stage.

It all started during the St. Louis/Philadelphia National League Divisional Series, when a squirrel (or squirrels) “invaded” games in both cities, prompting Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt to complain the critter distracted him during his delivery and manager Charlie Manuel to point out his fondness for squirrel-hunting.

There’s been quite a different reaction in St. Louis, where the Rally Squirrel has achieved celebrity status.

First came the Twitter account, @BuschSquirrel, and its 25,000+ followers. Then a star performance in a Fox postseason TV promo. And finally, fans were able to get in on the craze when the Cardinals distributed 40,000 rally towels with a squirrel motif for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series against Milwaukee.

"I think it's good. The fans are having fun," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told the Associated Press. "And I really believe that. This is not old-school, and I know I am in many ways, but I think there's so much attention and pressure on the players that sometimes they don't show their happiness."

Rally towels are a go-to gate giveaway for MLB teams during the playoffs. BDA has already delivered more than 1 million towels this postseason, with the World Series still to come.