The Akadema Funnel Glove, Explained: Why This Infield Design Stays Open, and Who Should Use It
Akadema's Funnel design keeps the glove pocket open on purpose. Here's the patent behind it, how it works, and which infielders should play with one.
Most baseball gloves are built to close. Akadema's Funnel design is built to stay open - and that one decision changes how the glove plays on every ground ball.
If you've seen the word "Funnel" on an Akadema infield glove like the AFL211 and wondered whether it's a real technology or just a marketing name, here's the short answer: it's a patented design (U.S. design patent D527,148, awarded in 2006) built around a flexible slit in the thumb and pinky that holds the glove's pocket open in its natural, relaxed state. The wide-open face tapers toward the pocket's center, so the ball is guided in rather than caught on the edges.
In this guide we'll break down where the design came from, how it actually works, what it feels like compared to a traditional glove, and which players it fits best - plus an honest look at the Funnel gloves we carry at The Hitting Store.
Where the Funnel design came from
Akadema is a family-run glove company founded in 1997 by brothers Joe and Lawrence Gilligan and headquartered in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Lawrence played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and the company built its reputation on doing something the big brands mostly stopped doing: engineering genuinely different glove shapes and patenting them. Their portfolio includes the Reptilian (2002), the Praying Mantis catcher's mitt developed with Hall of Famer Gary Carter (2003), the Claw outfield glove (2003), and the Funnel (2006). Over the years Akadema gloves have been worn by big leaguers including Manny Ramirez and three-time Gold Glove winner Shane Victorino, and a young Bryce Harper signed with the brand early in his career.
The Funnel came from a simple observation about how good infielders actually wear their gloves. Watch a middle infielder between pitches and you'll notice many of them bend the thumb and pinky of the glove backward, flattening and widening the pocket so there's more surface facing the ball. It's a manual adjustment players have made for generations - pros were reshaping their gloves by hand to fight the glove's natural tendency to fold shut.
Akadema's designers built that adjustment into the glove itself.
How the Funnel design actually works
Three structural features make a Funnel-pattern glove different from a conventional infield glove:
The FleXion slit. A flexible slit is cut into the thumb and pinky stalls. This is the core of the patent: instead of the thumb and pinky acting as stiff walls that pull the glove closed, the slit lets them hinge outward.
Inverted thumb and pinky. Because of that hinge, the thumb and pinky angle away from the pocket rather than curling over it. The glove's resting state is open - you don't have to consciously spread it as the ball arrives.
A funnel-shaped pocket. The open face is widest at the fingertips and tapers to a medium-depth pocket at the center. A ground ball that hits anywhere on the face tends to feed toward the middle of the glove instead of rattling near the fingers or snow-coning at the edge.
The practical result is a larger effective catching surface on every play. On a true hop, you're presenting more leather to the ball. On a bad hop or an in-between hop - the plays that eat up young infielders - the margin for error is wider, because a ball that would clank off the heel or fingertips of a closed glove has a funnel guiding it toward the pocket.
The medium pocket depth matters too. Infield play is a race: field, transfer, throw. A deep-pocketed glove holds the ball securely but makes you dig for it. The Funnel's shallower center is deliberate - the ball settles in a predictable spot every time, so your bare hand knows exactly where to go on the transfer. That's why Akadema pitches this glove at second basemen, shortstops, and third basemen who live on the double-play turn.
What it feels like (an honest take)
We'll be straight with you: a Funnel glove feels different the first time you put it on, and not everyone loves it immediately.
Players raised on traditional gloves sometimes describe the open, flared shape as strange for the first few sessions of catch - your instinct is to squeeze a glove shut, and this one is engineered so you don't have to. Give it a week of regular catch play and the design starts working for you: less conscious squeezing, more letting the glove do its job with soft hands and two-hand fundamentals.
That's also why coaches tend to like this design for developing infielders. The glove rewards exactly what infield coaches teach - get in front of it, present the glove face, funnel the ball to the middle, use two hands. It doesn't let a player get away with lazy one-handed stabs the way a deep-pocket trapper style glove can.
Who should probably not buy a Funnel glove: outfielders and players who prefer a deep pocket that swallows the ball (Akadema builds other patterns - like the Reptilian and Claw - for exactly those players). This is a purpose-built infield tool.
The Funnel gloves we carry
We stock Akadema's Funnel-pattern infield gloves alongside the rest of the Akadema line - over 60 Akadema gloves, bats, and gear.
| ProSoft Funnel AFL211 | Torino Series AFL11 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 11.5" | 11.5" |
| Web | I-web | I-web |
| Back / pocket | Open back, medium pocket | Open back, medium pocket |
| Leather | ProSoft - soft, game-ready feel out of the box | Torino - roughly 20% lighter than US steerhide with high tensile strength |
| Best for | Players who want to use it this weekend | Players who want a lighter, premium-leather gamer |
| Positions | 2B / SS / 3B | 2B / SS / 3B |
The AFL211 is the one we recommend to most players: it's the classic Funnel pattern in Akadema's ProSoft leather, which arrives close to game-ready instead of demanding weeks of break-in. We currently sell it for $149.95 - meaningfully below the $229.99 it lists for direct from the manufacturer.
The AFL11 is the step-up version in Torino leather for players who want a noticeably lighter glove; check the product page for current availability, as it sells through quickly.
Breaking in a Funnel glove
The good news: because the design's whole point is staying open, and because ProSoft leather comes soft, there's less break-in work than with a stiff pro-pattern glove. A few rules of thumb:
- Catch is king. Nothing shapes a glove to your hand like a few hundred throws. Aim for a week of regular catch before game use.
- Work the hinges, not the pocket shape. Flex the glove at its natural fold points. Don't try to mash the thumb and pinky inward to make it close like a traditional glove - you'd be fighting the design you paid for.
- A light conditioner, sparingly. A thin coat of glove conditioner softens the leather without adding weight. Skip the old myths: no ovens, no microwaves, no soaking in water - heat and saturation break down leather and lacing.
- Store it with a ball in the pocket and a wrap or mallet work between sessions if you want to speed things up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Akadema Funnel design?
It's a patented infield glove design (U.S. design patent D527,148, 2006) that uses a flexible "FleXion" slit in the thumb and pinky to keep the glove naturally open, with a pocket that tapers from a wide face to a medium-depth center so ground balls feed toward the middle of the glove.
Is the Funnel glove legal for game play?
Yes. It's a standard leather fielder's glove that meets normal baseball glove rules — the innovation is in the pattern and hinge structure, not in size or materials outside regulation.
What positions is the Funnel glove for?
It's built for infielders - second base, shortstop, and third base. The 11.5" pattern with a medium pocket is designed for fast transfers on double plays. Outfielders and first basemen are better served by other Akadema patterns.
Is the Funnel design good for youth players?
It's a strong choice for serious youth and travel-ball infielders, because the open face enlarges the effective catching surface and the design reinforces two-hand fundamentals. For beginners under about age 9, a smaller youth pattern like Akadema's Rookie Series is the better starting point.
How is the AFL211 different from the AFL11?
Same 11.5" Funnel pattern, I-web, and open back. The AFL211 uses ProSoft leather (softer, near game-ready, lower price); the AFL11 uses Torino leather that's about 20% lighter than typical US steerhide, at a premium price.
Do MLB players use Akadema gloves?
Akadema gloves have been used and endorsed by major leaguers including Manny Ramirez and Shane Victorino, and the company developed its Praying Mantis catcher's mitt with Hall of Famer Gary Carter. Endorsements change season to season, but the brand has a long track record at the professional level.
Ready to try one? See the ProSoft Funnel AFL211 or browse the full Akadema collection — gloves, catcher's mitts, wood bats, and more. Questions about sizing or fit? Contact us — we're happy to help you pick the right pattern.