The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-04
SCENERY CHANGE
HELPED THIS PAIR.
Ed Honey and Walter Holke
Benefited by Shift From
One Club to Another.

Change Of scenery did a world Of
GOOD 10 two National league players
during the 1919 season. The duo are
Ed Konetchy of the Brooklyn Dodgers
and Walter Holke Of the Boston Braves
These two first sackers displayed the
best form that they have shown In
some years. Their offensive ability
showed decided Improvement.
konetchy led the league first base
men in hitting and Holke was close
behind him,
Konetchy is credited with a .2s7 bat
ting average in the unofficial statistics.
Thls is the best National league aver
age he has had since 1912, when he bat
ted ,3l+ with the St Louis Cardinals.
Since that year he has not risen above
the .276 mark, if his Federal league rec
ord is excepted
1t will be remembered that Konetchy
was sent by the Cardinals to the Pitts
burgh Pirates in 1918. The other play
ers in the swap were Harmon, Now
| rey, Butler, Robinson, Wilson, Dolsn
| and Miller. Honey only played the
| season of 1914 with Dreyfuss team and
then jumped, 1915 finding him with the
Pittsfedss After the Federal league war
| the big first baseman was sold to Bos-
ton for $4,000. He did not set the
world afire with his hitting, and in
the l19 games he played in. Last spring
| he was ho!dout.
| The series of accidents and one or
| two other happenings during the spring
| raining trip made 1t necessary for the
| Brooklyn club to go on hunt for in
| felders and the purchase of Honey was
the result. He stepped into the game
without any spring workouts, and for
| quite spell during the early months
of the campaign was the offensive star
of the Brooklyn club.
Honey has been in the National
| 81
1908 he has played in more than 100
| games. He has been rated one OF the
best fielding first basemen in the game,
Previous to the 1919 season he has
led the first basemen in fielding five
times. In 1911 he had fielding aver
mark was 1926. In 1917 it was 1894,
and in 1918 1922.
Konetchy has also broken into the
record books for accepting the great
est number Of chances, assists and put
outs in a season. Five times, three OF
them in a row, has Honey accepted the
greatest number of chances in a sea
son. In 1909, 1910 and 1911 he did this,
taking, 1854, 1,49S and 1852 chances
respectively.
Koneys record also shows that he
had the greatest number OF assists for
first basemen five years. Fred Tenney
the old Boston star and then Giant
holds the record. The left-hander made
1877 assists in 1905. Honey comes next
with 1872, made in 1908.
II John McGraw had retained Holkt
and Walter had displayed the offensive
ability that he showed for the Braves
last season, there might have been q
different ending to the National league
pennant race.
McGraw sidetracked Holke for Chase
and Hal did not come up to the ex
pectations of the Giant leader.
True, there was not so great a mar
gin between the respective battin.
averages Of the rival first basemen, bu
there were periods when Chase wa
way below good form. His inability t.
hit in the early months OF the cam
paign was a serious detriment to thu
chances Of the Giants.
Holke batted 40 points better than HI
did the previous year, and stole NOR,
bases than he did in his two previous
seasons in the league. The official rec
ords also will show that he led hi
team in the item Of runs batted in.