Mike Martin Reaches 2,000 Career Wins

Image credit: Mike Martin (Photo by Don Juan Moore)

Mike Martin last year became college baseball’s all-time winningest coach, breaking Augie Garrido’s career wins record. He finished the season with 1,987 wins, more than any other coach in college sports.

Now, after Florida State started his 40th and final season as head coach 13-1, Martin is the first coach to reach 2,000 wins in his career. The sixth-ranked Seminoles defeated Virginia Tech, 5-2, Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader.

Florida State and Martin had an opportunity to reach the milestone in the first game of the day, but the Hokies won, 6-0, to delay the historic moment until the nightcap. The game was tied at the seventh-inning stretch before the Seminoles pushed two runs across in the bottom half of the inning. Outfielder/righthander J.C. Flowers, who hit a walk-off double on Friday night for win No. 1,999, threw two scoreless innings to close out the win.

Martin’s career record now stands at 2,000-714-4. His .736 winning percentage is the best among active coaches.

Martin, 75, has been the model of consistency among college coaches. He has led Florida State to at least 40 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance in each of his 39 seasons as head coach. That has preserved the program’s 41 straight seasons with an NCAA Tournament appearance, which ranks second all time to only Miami and its 44 straight appearances.

Martin believes the key to the Seminoles’ 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.”

Martin, the 2012 Coach of the Year, has led the Seminoles to the College World Series 16 times and won 13 regular-season conference titles—nine in the Atlantic Coast Conference and four in the Metro Conference. He has coached three Players of the Year and numerous big leaguers, including Buster Posey and J.D. Drew.

The lone area Martin has come up short during his career is at the College World Series. He has twice led the Seminoles to runner-up finishes in Omaha, but they have never won a national title. He is 21-32 in the CWS.

With Martin’s quest for 2,000 wins now complete, the attention now completely turns to Florida State’s national title aspirations. The Seminoles have a young, but talented team and are off to a strong start. But the schedule stiffens dramatically this week. Florida State on Tuesday visits No. 5 Florida for the first of its three annual games against its rival and then travels to No. 23 North Carolina State on the weekend.

But for one day at least, Martin and the Seminoles can celebrate 2,000 wins together, an accomplishment unlikely to ever be equaled.