FAYETTEVILLE — In the only full season he ever played in Major League Baseball, Dick Hughes was the best pitcher for the best team in the world.
That’s quite a feat given the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals’ rotation also featured Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, and the bullpen had All-Stars Joe Hoerner and Hal Woodeshick.
But that year — when the Cardinals won 101 games and beat the Red Sox in seven in the World Series — no St. Louis pitcher performed better than Hughes, who in 222 1/3 innings recorded a 2.67 ERA, struck out 161 and with a 16-6 record had the National League’s best win percentage (.