Who Says MIke Scroggins Can't Bowl?

"To have a guy like Scroggins POY would be a travesty to the already dying "game" of bowling. Scroggins-type can be found in any decent city league. I can't stand watching him bowl. He has 0 athletic ability."
--Michael, commenting on pba.com

Well, Mike Scroggins didn't win PoY. But had he beaten Pete Weber last Sunday, he would have. And I guess a pretty strong case could have then been made that he would have deserved it. Yet, it seems as though Michael and a lot of other people wouldn't have liked it because they don't respect Mike Scroggins as a bowler. They think his game is too one-dimensional.

"He has only one shot. Down and in from near the gutter. If he doesn't have that look, he's lost."

"He throws a weak ball." "He's boring to watch. One line. No hand. Bland personality. No charisma."

Well, all I can say is that this bland and allegedly limited bowler finished 3rd in season points, 3rd in earnings, tied for 3rd in cashes, tied for 3rd in match play appearances, tied for 2nd in championship round appearances, and 4th in average. Not too shabby for this "un-athletic" bowler .

Maybe his style IS unspectacular, like that of a lot of bowlers in our local leagues. But how many of league bowlers do you know who could average in the high 250's the way Scroggs did a few years ago in league, much less enjoy the PBA success that Scroggs has had for the past several years, almost winning Player of the Year this season by leading qualifying in one of the most challenging tournaments of the year?

Conversely, how many league bowlers do you know who have beautiful styles, throw the ball hard with a zillion revs, and made the pins fly all over the place but can't average over 220 on a typical house pattern or over 180 in a sport league and would be utterly and completely humiliated in a PBA tournament?

I love to watch guys like Jason Belmonte, Robert Smith, Tommy Jones, Wes Malott, and Pete Weber bowl. They're remarkably talented physically and have impressively powerful games. Yet, Mike Scroggins had a better season than any of them by almost any standard you'd care to name and will certainly end up in the PBA Hall of Fame for what he accomplishes in his career.

And isn't that the bottom line in deciding who can bowl and who can't?