There Is Another Way — A Smarter Solution
By Ken Cherryhomes
Mookie Betts took extended batting practice off a high velocity pitching machine. Said he’s taken around 300-400 swings. Asked if he was trying to hack his way out of his slump:
‘If there’s another way, please let me know”
Recently, Mookie Betts took 300-400 swings off a high-velocity pitching machine to try to get out of a slump. When asked about his approach, his rhetorical question — “If there’s another way, please let me know” — points directly to a gap in today’s training practices.
What Betts is searching for, whether he knows it or not, is not a different method—because practicing against high-velocity pitches is indeed the way to regain timing and swing feel. The problem is that this approach, while effective, requires an overwhelming amount of repetition. The solution doesn’t have to rely on such volume. With precise, personalized guidance, this method can be streamlined to achieve the same results in a fraction of the time. This science-based approach, used successfully in other disciplines, focuses on accelerating learning by providing real-time, targeted feedback—something that can easily be implemented in baseball. And when the key constraint—timing—is reduced, a player’s mechanics naturally and holistically optimize. By solving timing, the hitter no longer has to fight against misalignments or overcorrect their swing, allowing mechanics to adjust fluidly and efficiently, without forced adjustments.
The answer to Mookie’s question is: the xFactor Hitting System. If Betts knew about the xFactor system, he’d have an alternative—a scientifically-backed, timing-driven method that transcends the brute-force approach he’s currently relying on. This moment highlights how even the most elite players, like Betts, could benefit from more intelligent, solution-oriented training versus traditional trial-and-error methods.
This is exactly where the xFactor Hitting System comes in.
- The Swing Alert™ System could provide Mookie with real-time timing solutions, offering precise cues on when to swing, rather than blindly hacking at high-velocity pitches.
- Instead of 300-400 swings rooted in guesswork, the system would give actionable feedback on timing, zeroing in on his specific issues with timing or pitch recognition.
The xFactor Hitting System goes even further by eliminating the need for recalibration when pitch location and pitch velocity/type changes are programmed into a pitching machine. It maps and stores Mookie’s swing for all pitch locations, velocities, and types, allowing the system to provide personalized, adaptive real-time guidance that helps him adjust to any pitch scenario on the fly, without guesswork. What normally takes hundreds of swings to achieve can be streamlined through precise, targeted feedback, using a science-based methodology proven in other disciplines and perfectly suited for baseball.
Taking hundreds of swings in a single session also risks fatigue, and as fatigue sets in, the hitter’s actual swing time and their fresh, in-game swing time may no longer be aligned. By the end of a long session, much of the training is no longer relying on the hitter’s internal timing- their subconscious sense of “how long it takes to swing from launch to contact.” This disconnect risks confusing in-game timing predictions, turning what was intended to be productive practice into the reinforcement of bad habits.
Breaking the Cycle: A Smarter, Science-Based Approach
Betts’ question is not just rhetorical—it’s an opportunity for the world to recognize what modern training is missing. Endless swings feel productive but fail to address the core cognitive process of timing, which is the real key to unlocking a hitter’s full potential.
The xFactor Hitting System provides that elusive other way—a science-based, errorless system that accelerates memory encoding and enhances intersection timing through real-time, precise cues. By guiding hitters on when to swing, the system eliminates guesswork and replaces trial-and-error methods with actionable solutions.
Research shows that errorless learning accelerates memory consolidation, allowing players to internalize successful patterns more efficiently. This training system focuses hitters like Betts on the most critical task: timing the intersection between bat and ball, without the distractions of iterative timing correction or over-correcting mechanics or errors. Once timing is mastered, mechanics naturally follow—batters stop fighting misalignments and instead let their swings optimize naturally to become more intent driven.
Instead of 400 swings based on guesswork, the xFactor Hitting System provides timing solutions, offering a targeted, efficient path to enhanced performance and unlocking true potential without excessive repetition.
The Solution is Here
Mookie’s question—”If there’s another way”—deserves an answer. The answer is already here. The xFactor Hitting System is that smarter solution, and it’s time to bring it to players. This moment represents the tipping point for baseball to move past outdated training techniques and embrace a real-time, science-based solution that focuses on what truly matters: timing.
The future of hitting is not just about mechanics. It’s about mastering when to act, and the xFactor Hitting System is ready to revolutionize how hitters like Mookie Betts get back to peak performance—faster, smarter, and with precision.