If you asked Florida State head baseball coach Mike Martin what the goal will be in 2018, he would tell you it was to take that trip back to Omaha for the College World Series for the 23rd time in program history. And he is right, the goal for Florida State will be to win that national championship that has eluded the program for so many years.
The Seminoles are coming off of a season that ended in the College World Series and one where Florida State claimed a seventh Atlantic Coastal Conference championship. All in all, the Seminoles will return a lot of key contributors in 2018.
Key bats like Jackson Lueck, Cal Raleigh, and Rhett Aplin will lead the way on offense while Tyler Holton, Drew Parrish, and Cobi Johnson look to anchor the pitching staff. The talent will be there for Martin to make one last run at that coveted first title.
But there is another goal for the players and coaches in 2018, and that is to make Martin the all-time winningest coach in college baseball. Last season Mike Martin captured win No. 1,900 after the Seminoles defeated Virginia Commonwealth 11-3 in the rubber game of the season-opening series. Martin joined legendary Texas head coach Augie Garrido as the only two coaches to win 1,900 games in NCAA history.
Martin, who will turn 74 in February, is just 32 wins shy of surpassing Garrido as the all-time winningest coach in college baseball history.
Known widely by his jersey number, Martin or 11 certainly has his flaws, but every coach does. Martin catches a lot of flack for not being able to win a national championship, but he has been able to win at least 40 games for 40 straight seasons and holds a record of 1,944-694-4 all-time in his coaching career. That is a winning percentage of .737.
Not having a championship is frustrating for fans of a program like Florida State, who is a force to be reckoned with virtually every season. With the rival Florida Gators winning a first national championship last season, the urgency to win a national title is most definitely fueled.
But as we prepare for college baseball again, FSU and the fans that support this program need to sit back and enjoy Martin in what is likely his last season as the head skipper.
For 11 to be in a place to win a national championship, that will likely mean that the team will be in line for 40 wins for the 41st season in a row. That would also mean their coach would have the most wins in NCAA history.
That’s worth repeating a few times, because this seems like one of those records that would not get broken. If Martin is on the right side of 32 more games, it is hard to imagine any other coach ever winning more games than the man in Tallahassee.
Only one program can say it has the all-time winningest head coach in NCAA history. Before FSU fans worry about a national championship in 2018, they need to root for Martin and the wins record.
The odds are FSU will win a national championship eventually. Florida State has dubiously been to the College World Series more than any other program in history to not win a title. One would assume that everything would eventually fall in line at some point.
One team wins a title every year, but few teams are lucky enough to watch their head coach break a record for the most wins ever. That’s something FSU will likely get to witness in 2018.
While Martin would be the first to tell you that the ultimate goal is a return trip to Omaha, there is something special about standing alone when it comes to all-time wins. One thing that seems for sure is that if 2018 is to be the year, the former won’t come without the latter.
finance85
November 15, 2017 at 2:32 pm
#11 did a really poor job last season. The kids all seemed disinterested most of the time, and only really came alive when their backs were against a wall.
The problem the last few seasons has been lack of a power pitcher as a closer. FSU has relied on gimmick or junk ball pitchers, who don’t perform consistently in big, pressure filled situations.
There have also been lots of really strange injuries. I’ve wondered for a long time if there’s an issue with strength and conditioning.
The last 3 years, there’s been an emphasis on drawing walks. There’s been too many times when guys struck out looking. Being patient is one thing, but it can’t lead to losing aggressiveness early in the count.
Finally, #11 did a really bad job last year of managing the bull pen, and other game situations. He always seemed on batter late in making changes. He seemed a little off on bunting situations as well.
I did like the fact that #11 seemed open to the idea of running more last year.
This team needs to play solid defense, and develop some pitching. They need to protect the plate better with two strikes. They need to stay away from double plays by running when there’s a slow guy at the plate.
Robert Blackburn
November 15, 2017 at 3:47 pm
I agree with pretty much everything you said.
You will see a much better pitching staff this season than you did the last few. With Cobi coming back, you now have a starter that will throw upper 90’s for you. I don’t know where Sands falls into the mix of things, but it would not be in the rotation if I had any say in the decision, but he does throw a good fastball if he can command it and allow himself to work off of it.
Shane Drohan and CJ Van Eyk are two freshmen that throw in the 90’s, but both will top out around 93 on a good day. The staff as a whole won’t throw it passed you, but they have more lively arms than what we have seen in the last two seasons I think.
While taking/seeing more pitches is normally something that comes from the coaches, I think you will see more aggression this year too. Jackson Lueck will dictate how aggressive this lineup is I think. Walls took a lot of pitches last season, and I think that trickles down the lineup. If guys like Lueck, Raleigh, and Aplin swing early, most of the lineup will follow.
FSU no longer has the slowest man in college baseball on the team (Nieporte), so double plays will fall slightly for that reason alone. The bullpen will be better, not sure how much better though. FSU has the arms to have a good bullpen, but well see how they perform and if they are used correctly.