This week in fantasy baseball history

Sporting News, The, July 8, 2005 by George Winkler

How fantasy news would've sounded ... in 1941.

July 2: Joe DiMaggio extends his hitting streak to 45 games, breaking "Wee" Willie Keeler's major league record. Is DiMaggio a sell-high candidate? Well, fantasy owners should feel confident DiMaggio has a few more games (perhaps 11?) left during this streak. DiMaggio's keeper status, however, is in question because of the war in Europe.

July 3: THE SPORTING NEWS has discovered that the height of major league pitching mounds ranges from 15 inches at Boston's Braves Field to 7 inches at Washington's Griffith Stadium. Fantasy owners should pay attention to this lack of uniformity; a higher mound can improve ERA because the pitcher has a better angle from which to throw.

July 4: Indians manager Roger Peckinpaugh says Bob Feller will rest more after he fails to finish a game for the third straight time. At 16-4, Feller no longer is a lock for 30 wins, but he still should please points leaguers by staying in games. (Fact: Feller was 25-13 with 28 complete games and 343 innings pitched in '41. Fantasy owners could have lived with those numbers.)