Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Bowling: Crankers vs Tweeners

In the first quarter of Statistics I completed a few projects. One of my favorite projects was determining what type of bowler is better. The three types are a cranker, tweener, and stroker.  I determined that every single top bowler is either a cranker or tweener. After collecting all the data it was clear that there is no difference between the two. You may wondering how I determined that crankers had to have high revolutions on the ball, above average ball speed, and exploding pins. Tweeners had an average ball speed and gradual hook.

Each type of bowler has its pros and cons though. Crankers have the ability to throw powerful strikes, even on not-perfect shots, due to the high number of revolutions and speed on the ball. However, with that comes the risk of splits, which crankers are more prone to throw than some of the other bowling styles. Now tweeners are typically versatile bowlers due to their ability to take parts from each style of bowling to form their own. They can consistently place their shots where they want and turn up the power when necessary. However, it can be difficult to make such changes during a match, and tweeners have to weigh the consequences prior to making any such adjustment. 

Overall I think I did very well on this project. It was interesting to see how my results panned out. I had always wondered which type of bowler was better. A cranker or tweener are equally as good.. I think that depending on the condition of the lane, one can be better than the other.