About Us
The X Factor hitting system was conceived in 2001, long before the technology was available to develop a functioning system. I successfully implemented the concept for this now working system, intuitively, as a timing training method for 15-years, until our first prototype was produced. By matching the speed of a pitch and a hitter’s swing time, I issued distance commands, enabling hitters to hit a ball to its corresponding field, based on pitch location. In a short time, a hitter could master spray hitting, but only under short-toss conditions. Difficulty entered, when attempting to implement this intuitive method at full distance and higher velocities.
In 2015, I met a nuclear engineer. I detailed the process I had conceived, and the potential for a problem solving hitting system like no other on the market. Because he did not have a background in baseball, my concept was not met with the usual skepticism I had become accustomed to from my friends and colleagues. I described the mathematical equation for coordinating the intersection between two independent bodies, and if we could capture the time over distance of each body (bat and ball), we could predict how to coordinate the two, based on motion over distance.
An algorithm was produced and two capture devices created, one to capture and store hitter time to contact, the second, capturing live pitched ball velocity.
Because I had been essentially testing this theory for 15-years, intuitively at short distances and low velocities, I had no doubt the system would work. And it did. We tested high school and collegiate players first, then invited youth players, challenging them with pitch speeds in excess of any they had previously experienced.
Now, rather than guessing when to swing and making timing adjustments until a successful collision between the bat and ball occurred, a hitter can practice with precise timing, helping to encode depth perception memory and experience for pitches of any velocity at an accelerated rate. What was once left to the hitter, but for vague suggestions like “swing sooner,”, or “swing later”, can now be answered with almost perfect accuracy.
~ Ken Cherryhomes, founder of X Factor Technology and creator of the X Factor Hitting System.
Ken Cherryhomes - Founder
Ken has trained hitters at all levels of baseball and softball, from beginners to Big League players, with unprecedented success. As an associate scout for the Tampa Bay Rays (2003-2014), he focused on player development rather than the traditional role of scout. One of the most sought-after hitting coaches in his area, Ken built, owned and operated three batting cages and has consulted on a number of baseball training related projects. He developed several unique training methods that have been practiced with great success, including a timing-based method that has led to the creation of the X Factor system. Never one to accept anything without thorough analysis and investigation, Ken’s unique approach compels him to seek out the how and why, never allowing himself to be confined by the consensus of the current or popular paradigm. Ken has authored several publications on the science of hitting, as well as on swing mechanics, including his most recent contribution, “In Pursuit of the Optimal Swing, pt. I”. A surfer, published singer/songwriter, and actor, Ken’s ability to think outside the box, along with his vast experience in baseball training, enable him to know which questions to ask, making him uniquely qualified to succeed.
