Russa's lineup card, and Taguchi became an everyday player. He responded with his best season, batting .288 in 396 at-bats with eight home runs and 53 RBI, and contributing with his stellar defense at all three outfield positions as the Cardinals won 100 games and had the best record in the National League. Cardinal radio announcer Mike Shannon took to calling Taguchi "the So-man" and praising his hard work and extreme personal courtesy. By habit, Taguchi would even give a little bow to the umpire whenever he stepped up to the plate. His modest and happy demeanor, as well as shyness due to struggling with English in interviews early on, endeared him to St. Louis fans. In , Taguchi's playing time declined somewhat, his at-bat total falling to 316 from 396 the year before. However, Taguchi would make the playoff roster for the Cardinals for the third year in a row, and have a heroic postseason moment: on October 13, 2006, he hit the go-ahead home run off Billy Wagner in the top of the 9th inning of Game 2 of the NLCS. The home run gave the Cardinals a 7–6 lead in a game they would win 9-6. Taguchi played in four of five games of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals, hitting .182, and won a World Series ring as the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers four games to one. Taguchi agreed to a one-year deal worth $925,000 with the St. Louis Cardinals for the season. Taguchi returned to the Cardinals in 2007 and had another solid season, batting .290 as a part-time player, with 307 at-bats in 130 games. He was one of manager Tony La Russa's most valuable pinch-hitters; of 46 games in 2007 where he's shown to have had just 1 AB, Taguchi picked up 15 hits. Taguchi played 617 innings in the field, with 41 starts (and 22 other appearances) in center (where Jim Edmonds was banged up) and 21 starts (20 other) in left (where the Cardinals hadn't settled on one player until 2008 and Skip Schumaker). Taguchi played sparingly in right field (2 starts, 6 other) and part of a game at 2B. Philadelphia Phillies (2008) After the 2007 season ended, the Cardinals declined Taguchi's option for , then decided to forgo arbitration and release Taguchi on December 5, 2007, after Taguchi's agent had requested his release earlier in the week.