Mike Martin Breaks All-Time Win Mark

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.
Editor/Collegiate Baseball

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida St. Head Coach Mike Martin is now the winningest coach in college baseball history.

The Seminoles beat Clemson, 3-2 in 13 innings for Martin’s 1,976th career win which is one more than Augie Garrido who coached at San Francisco St., Cal Poly, Cal. St. Fullerton, Illinois and Texas over a 48-year-career.

Garrido passed away March 15 at the age of 79 following a stroke.

Martin has coached the Seminoles to 38 consecutive regional appearances and 16 trips to the College World Series as his teams have reached the 40-win mark 38 consecutive seasons under his guidance.

He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

Martin was contacted by Collegiate Baseball and asked a variety of questions about what he has learned along his coaching journey.

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL: What have you learned during your remarkable 39-year coaching career?

MARTIN: One of the biggest things is the way I treat players. When I first started, it was my way or the highway. After 10 years of being a head coach in the 1990s, I started looking at things a bit differently because I saw that some players reacted differently with criticism.

That doesn’t mean I stopped criticizing players one-on-one. But earlier in my coaching career, I wouldn’t take the time to try and understand what the young man was experiencing in his life whether it might be a girlfriend or parent issue.

Or possibly he was tired from studying the night before. I then tried to be more understanding of the individual. I think that helped me in many regards. I still expect certain things that are team oriented.

But sometimes a young man needs to be coddled, needs support, and as I became a more veteran coach, it was a good approach.

CB: When different players on your team have tested you over the years, from your top athletes to others who don’t see much playing time, how do you handle uncomfortable situations that come up?

MARTIN: I’ve tried to be consistent in the way I have dealt with players. That is very important to the team. I made a vow to myself 39 years ago that I will never use a player to win a game when he has done something that was against team regulations, especially if other players have been punished for the same infraction.

A player will live by that suspension and will not be given any leeway to enable us to have a better chance of winning. I can’t do that.

If I did it for him, what would I do the next time? Many coaches are dealing with marijuana usage by our players.

Heck, it’s legal in several states now. But we have team rules, and we’re going to stay with them.

To read more of this article which delves into many more areas that he has learned in his coaching career, purchase the May 18, 2018 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe by CLICKING HERE.