Sport(s) Baseball Overall 1854–647–4 (.741) Record 1854–647–4 (.741) Name Mike Martin Titles Head coach | 1965–1966 Florida State Role Baseball Coach 1980–present Florida State Date drafted 1970 | |
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Born February 12, 1944 (age 80) ( 1944-02-12 ) 1975–1979 Florida State (assistant) Team Florida State Seminoles baseball | ||
Education Florida State University Conference Atlantic Coast Conference | ||
Michael D. "Mike" Martin, Sr. (born February 12, 1944) is the head baseball coach of the Florida State Seminoles baseball team. Martin is the second all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I college baseball history, and second in all-time winning percentage. After the 2017 season, Martin had compiled a record of 1,944 wins, 694 losses and four ties over 38 seasons of collegiate coaching.
Martin, a native of Gastonia, North Carolina, began his collegiate playing career at Wingate Junior College where he was a Junior College All-American. He then transferred to Florida State, where he played from 1965 to 1966 and graduated in 1966. During his years as the center fielder at Florida State, Martin hit .354, and earned all-District honors in his senior season and played in the 1965 College World Series. After his college career was over, Martin played professional baseball in the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers minor league organizations for three seasons before beginning his career in coaching.
Martin began his career in coaching at the junior high school level. His first stint as a college coach, surprisingly, came in a different sport, basketball, when Martin became the head basketball coach at Tallahassee Community College.
It was in 1975, when Woody Woodward took over the head coaching job at Florida State, that Martin would be reunited with his alma mater. Martin served as an assistant coach under Woodward for four seasons, and then for another season under Dick Howser. Howser would get his chance to manage the New York Yankees and Martin stepped into the head coaching role at Florida State in 1980.
Though Martin's teams have yet to win a national title, his tenure at Florida State is marked with many honors and feats. Florida State, as of the 2017 season, has made 40 straight postseason appearances (38 under Martin), the longest active streak in the country. Martin's Seminoles have won seven Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships and have appeared in 16 College World Series.
Martin's players, which include many college and professional standouts such as Deion Sanders, J. D. Drew, Doug Mientkiewicz, Stephen Drew, Paul Wilson, Lincoln R. "Link" Jarrett, and Buster Posey, have excelled as well. More than 70 of Martin's players have been named All-Americans, five have been named national player of the year, four have won the Golden Spikes Award, considered to be the most prestigious individual award in amateur baseball, and two have won the Dick Howser Trophy, J.D. Drew and Buster Posey, considered to be the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for baseball. Martin has won the ACC Coach of the Year award seven times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012).
Dedicated in 2005, Florida State's baseball team plays on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.