Breaking into the Big Leagues

Lawrence Gilligan’s dream of reaching the major leagues has faded but he and brother Joe aim to transform the national pastime. Their Garfield company, Akadema, makes innovative gloves and bats that have begun to gain big-league favor.

Noah Liberman(Glove Expert and historian) calls "Akadema the most creative of the 15 baseball glove makers in the market today. That includes giants like Rawlings, Wilson, Mizuno and Nike. Gloves are traditional and manufacturers have resisted innovation for years. There are forces of tradition that these guys are bucking."


"We don't have Derek Jeter or Nomar Garciaparra," says Lawrence Gilligan (president of Akadema) "But we do have the next generation of stars." "People are getting to know Akadema now. In six years everyone will know Akadema," notes Joe Gilligan, CEO of Akadema