Konikowski signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 during World War II, and spent all but 11 games of his 310-game minor league career (1944–1951; 1954–1956) in the Giants' farm system.

[1] He debuted with the Giants in June 1948 as a relief pitcher and received his only MLB starting assignment on the season's final day, allowing eight runs in 2+2⁄3 innings against the National League champion Boston Braves.

He was credited with his only big league save that season, on July 31, as he preserved a 14–9 win for Larry Jansen against the Chicago Cubs.

He also pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Game 5 of the 1951 World Series, a 13–1 Giant defeat, although one out was recorded when the New York Yankees' Gene Woodling tried to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run.

Then, in the midseason of 1954, he worked in ten games for the Giants as a reliever and was largely effective, until he was treated roughly in a July 18 outing against the Cincinnati Redlegs.