32 JULY 2019 • BASEBALLAMERICA.COMONE LAST
TRIP TO
OMAHA
In his final season in the dugout,
Mike Martin guided Florida State back
to the College World Series after a 40th
straight season with at least 40 winsby TEDDY CAHILLO
n the field at Alex Box Stadium,
where Florida State had just
walked off Louisiana State to
win the Baton Rouge Super
Regional and advance to the College World
Series, the Seminoles gathered around
coach Mike Martin in a team huddle.
Martin, 75, was in his 40th and final
season as head coach of his alma mater
before retiring. He has won more games
than anyone else ever in college athletics.
He has coached a record three College
Players of the Year and a No. 1 pick in the
Major League Baseball draft (J.D. Drew)
and the National Football League draft
(Jameis Winston). He has coached fathers
and sons, including his own son, Mike
Martin Jr.
He has won at least 40 games and made
the NCAA Tournament in all 40 seasons
as head coach, streaks that will never be
matched.
But Martin has never lost his youthful
energy. And so, with the Seminoles mak-
ing one last trip to Omaha with him at the
helm, Martin celebrated the way he always
celebrates a CWS berth. At the middle of
the huddle, he screamed “We goin’ back!”
pounding his hands on a ball bucket in
front of him and joining the mosh pit his
players started around him.
As Martin heads into retirement, the
sport is unlikely to ever see another coach
like him. His consistency is unparalleled,
as is his winning. No college coach in
any sport had ever won more than 2,000
games, a milestone he passed early this
season. He has taken 17 teams to theCOLLEGE
& HIGH
SCHOOL
AWARDSCOLLEGE COACH OF THE YEARCollege World Series and never missed an
NCAA Tournament.
That streak was in some doubt at times
this season as the Seminoles often played
with three freshmen in their lineup and
leaned heavily on underclassmen overall.
Florida State’s RPI in April approached
100, well outside the range required for an
at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
But Martin and the Seminoles righted the
ship in the second half and then embarked
on an impressive postseason run.
They swept through the Athens
Regional, defeating No. 4 overall seed
Georgia twice along the way, and then
swept LSU, the No. 13 overall seed, in
Baton Rouge to make it back to Omaha.
For his strong coaching job this sea-
son and in recognition of an unparal-
leled career, Martin is the 2019 Baseball
America College Coach of the Year.
Martin previously won the award in
2012 and is now the sixth man to win the
Coach of the Year award twice, joining
Skip Bertman, Augie Garrido, Dave Snow,
Gene Stephenson and Ray Tanner.
Martin, as he has always done, said
the credit for the Seminoles’ success this
season belongs with the players, and he
enjoyed watching them grow as a team.“It’s like you’re involved in a dream
when you see young men do things you
knew they were capable of,” Martin said.
“Now, they’re not the least bit intimidated
by any surroundings, they’re just enjoying
playing this great game of baseball.”
Martin is quick to spread credit for the
Seminoles’ success throughout the pro-
gram. He believes the key to their long-
term consistency goes well beyond the
field. He credits his assistant coaches over
the years, as well as the support from the
university and fans. It all goes to create an
atmosphere that has kept propelling FSU
to success year after year.
“It truly is a family atmosphere,” he
said. “If that sounds a little corny, it’s
nothing more than the truth.”
Whatever the secret is, it has worked.
This year, the season never spun out of
control, even while the Seminoles went
through a midseason slump as their young
players adjusted to the rigors of Atlantic
Coast Conference play.
They figured it out at just the right time
and played their best baseball in June, the
most important time of the college base-
ball season. It was enough to carry Florida
State to the College World Series for the
17th time under Martin.Martin’s place in college baseball his-
tory has long been secured, as has the
respect of his peers. Louisville coach Dan
McDonnell, the 2017 Coach of the Year,
has coached against Martin in the ACC for
the last five years. He said the first time he
was a little starstruck by Martin was the
first time they were on an ACC coaches’
conference call together.
Now, McDonnell has come to appreciate
how Martin treats other people and why
that’s a big part of his success.
“Over the five years, it’s been a real joy
just coaching against them because you
know if you beat him, he’s going to be so
complimentary, and if he beats you, he’s
going to be so gracious and never to make
you feel bad,” McDonnell said. “It’s one of
the neatest handshakes you can have after
a game, win or lose.”
Martin won a lot more than he lost in his
career and it is only fitting that his career
ended in Omaha. The winningest coach of
all-time leaves a legacy that is about a lot
more than wins and losses, but through it
all he was a competitor.
The fight this year’s team displayed was
vintage Martin and Florida State.
Not to mention a perfect end to his sto-
ried career. nFlorida State’s
Mike Martin never
missed an NCAA
Tournament in
40 years as head
coach. He took the
Seminoles to 17
College World Series.DON JUAN MOORE/@DJUANFOTOS