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Who was Mike Martin? Stats, career record for beloved, legendary Florida State baseball coach

ehsan kassim, usa today network
·6 min read

Florida State baseball is back in a familiar place: The College World Series.

The No. 8 national seed Seminoles are making their 24th trip to Omaha, Nebraska, the third-most in college baseball history. But this trip will be without the coach who got them there more than any other in program history.

Long-time coach Mike Martin, the namesake of Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium, died on Feb. 1, just before the start of the 2024 college baseball season and less than three years after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. He had retired as the FSU baseball coach following a 2019 run to Omaha — the last trip for the program before this season.

REQUIRED READING: Mike Martin, FSU baseball coach who set records, dies after Lewy body dementia battle

The coach nicknamed and lovingly called "Eleven" by players, former players, media, and fans is the winningest coach in NCAA history, regardless of division, with more than 2,000 victories. The 2019 season was his 40th consecutive 40-win season, another NCAA record.

Here's what you need to know about Martin, his record at FSU and in the College World Series, nickname and more:

Mike Martin death

Martin died on Feb. 1, 2024 at the age of 79 years old following a battle with Lewy body dementia. Martin's wife, Carol, revealed Martin's dementia diagnosis for the first time publicly in an exclusive interview with the Democrat. She revealed the diagnosis came two years after his retirement in the summer of 2021.

FSU held a ceremony for "Martin’s Celebration of Life" with 2,500 attendees, including more than 350 former players and the current FSU baseball team packing Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. Paul Wilson, Doug Mientkiewicz, Eduardo Perez, three-time World Series champion Buster Posey and Golden Spikes Award winner Mike Loynd were among the former players in attendance.

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Mike Martin career record with FSU

  • Mike Martin career record: 2,029-736-4

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Martin began his collegiate career playing for two seasons at Wingate University in Wingate, his hometown. Martin transferred to FSU and played center field for the Seminoles during the 1965 and 1966 seasons. He hit .354 in 1965, helping the Seminoles reach the CWS. He would, however, miss the College World Series with a broken arm.

After a few seasons of playing minor league baseball, Martin returned to Tallahassee as a coach and teacher in Tallahassee. He coached basketball at Tallahassee Community College from 1970-71 and Godby High from 1971-74. In 1974, he was hired as an assistant by FSU coach Woody Woodward in 1974.

Martin collected his first victory as FSU's coach with 9-8 victory Miami on Feb. 24, 1980 (9-8). His 2,029th career win ― the final one ― came in the 2019 College World Series, a 10-0 victory over Arkansas on June 15, 2019. Martin reached 1,976 wins on May 5, 2018, with a win over Clemson to legendary coach Augie Garrido for the most wins ever by a coach. On March 9, 2019, Martin became the first coach to achieve 2,000 career wins.

In 2005, FSU renamed its home field to Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. Posey, J.D. Drew, Paul Wilson, Mike Loynd, Mike Fuentes, and Doug Mientkiewicz were among the 70 players who achieved All-American status under Martin.

Here's a look at Martin's record year-by-year with the Seminoles:

  • 1980 ― 51-12, CWS

  • 1981 ― 56-23, NCAA Regional

  • 1982 ― 56-17-1, NCAA Regional

  • 1983 ― 55-18-1, NCAA Regional

  • 1984 ― 55-29, NCAA Regional

  • 1985 ― 59-23, NCAA Regional

  • 1986 ― 61-13, CWS runner-up

  • 1987 ― 55-18, CWS

  • 1988 ― 50-18-1, NCAA Regional

  • 1989 ― 54-18, CWS

  • 1990 ― 57-15, NCAA Regional

  • 1991 ― 57-14, CWS

  • 1992 ― 49-21, CWS

  • 1993 ― 46-19, NCAA Regional

  • 1994 ― 53-22, CWS

  • 1995 ― 53-16, CWS

  • 1996 ― 52-17, CWS

  • 1997 ― 50-17, NCAA Regional

  • 1998 ― 53-20, CWS

  • 1999 ― 57-14, CWS runner-up

  • 2000 ― 53-19, CWS

  • 2001 ― 47-19, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2002 ― 60-14, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2003 ― 54-13-1, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2004 ― 45-23, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2005 ― 53-20, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2006 ― 44-21, NCAA Regional

  • 2007 ― 45-13, NCAA Regional

  • 2008 ― 54-14, CWS

  • 2009 ― 45-18, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2010 ― 48-20, CWS

  • 2011 ― 46-19, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2012 ― 50-17, CWS

  • 2013 ― 47-17, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2014 ― 43-17, NCAA Regional

  • 2015 ― 44-21, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2016 ― 41-22, NCAA Super Regional

  • 2017 ― 46-23, CWS

  • 2018 ― 43-19, NCAA Regional

  • 2019 ― 42-23, CWS

Mike Martin College World Series record

Before Martin's hiring at FSU, the Seminoles had qualified for the CWS just seven times in their history, including a runner-up finish in 1970. Martin served as an assistant coach under Woodward and Howser from 1975-79 before being promoted to head coach.

Martin led the Seminoles to 17 College World Series appearances and two runner-up finishes during his 40 years in charge. He finished with a career record of 22-34 in the CWS.

  • 1986: 4-2 (runner-up)

  • 1987: 1-2

  • 1989: 2-2

  • 1991: 0-2

  • 1992: 1-2

  • 1994: 1-2

  • 1995: 1-2

  • 1996: 1-2

  • 1998: 0-2

  • 1999: 4-2 (runner-up)

  • 2000: 2-2

  • 2008: 0-2

  • 2010: 1-2

  • 2012: 2-2

  • 2017: 1-2

  • 2019: 1-2

Did Mike Martin ever win a national championship with Florida State?

Current Florida State coach Link Jarrett was on one of the FSU baseball teams that qualified for the College World Series while playing with the Seminoles from 1991-94. Perhaps the only thing Martin could not accomplish during his illustrious career was winning a national championship.

Florida State finished as a runner-up twice under Martin, in 1986 and 1999. The Seminoles lost 10-2 to Arizona in 1986 and then to rival Miami 6-5 in 1999. The best-of-three-game championship series was introduced to the CWS in 2003, something in which FSU baseball has never had the opportunity to play.

"He means so much, and I think about him all the time,” Jarrett said of Martin following the Tallahassee Super Regional. “I honestly think sometimes about how he would handle a situation in a game. I thought about the ceremony that this stadium opened up to, to start, not our season, but it really started the 2024 events here.”

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Mike Martin's "Eleven" nickname, explained

Martin played for two seasons (1963-64) at Wingate University before transferring to FSU in 1965. In his first season with the Seminoles, he wore the No. 15 jersey. He switched to No. 11 in his senior season in 1966. When Martin returned to FSU as an assistant in 1974, he continued to wear the No. 11 jersey number. He proceeded to wear the number through his retirement in 1999. In 2021, Martin had his jersey number retired.

Adding significance to the number, Martin died 11 days before his 80th birthday. The Seminoles won 11-0 on opening day against Butler and then proceeded to an 11-0 start to the 2024 season. FSU suffered its first loss on March 23 vs. Clemson.

"Eleven is looking down at us and loving it," Jarrett said postgame about Mike Martin and his famous 11 nickname.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Mike Martin stats, record, more to know of late FSU baseball coach