Former Florida State coach Mike Martin, the winningest coach in college baseball history, died Thursday. He was 79.
Martin died after battling Lewy body dementia for three years.
Martin spent 40 seasons as the Seminoles’ coach and compiled a 2,029-736-4 record and led Florida State to 17 College World Series appearances. Martin enjoyed 40 consecutive winning seasons and guided the Seminoles to 40 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Martin retired in 2019.
“Today, the world lost more than the winningest coach in college sports history, we lost a legendary human being that was a role model to all that he encountered,” current Florida State coach Link Jarrett said in a statement.
Four of Martin’s players won the Golden Spikes Award as national player of the year — Mike Fuentes (1981), Mike Loynd (1986), J.D. Drew (1997) and Buster Posey (2008).
According to Florida State, 60 of Martin’s former players reached the major leagues. Among those was Deion Sanders, the legendary two-sport star who went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Fame player.
Martin played for Florida State and became an assistant coach in 1975.
Martin became coach in the fall of 1979 after Dick Howser was hired as manager of the New York Yankees. Florida State’s baseball stadium is named after Howser.
–Field Level Media
