He pushed his chair back and the congratulatory handshakes began, including a few with people affiliated with TCU. Then he made his way to the back of the room. That’s where I caught up with him.
Over the last 31 years, he’s brought 14 different teams to this city and to this stadium. His team has never won the National Championship, but it’s the only major accomplishment missing from his resume.
He’s the winningest active NCAA Division I coach by percentage (.745 going into the CWS) in history and his teams have piled up 1,626 wins for him coming into the event. Only three Division I coaches have ever reached the 1,600-win mark. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007. His teams have made 31 consecutive NCAA Regional appearances. And all 23 of FSU’s 50-win seasons have come under Martin.
Even though things have not worked out on the field at Rosenblatt the way Martin hoped, he stands in the back of the Hall of Fame room for the last time and talks about two of his best memories in the ballpark.
“I would say the biggest memory that I have is the time I was in the dugout about 16 years ago,” Martin said with raw emotion filling his voice. “And I said, ‘Everybody’s out here watching their son. They’re having a big time and all I do is coach – scream and yell and jump up and down. I ain’t gonna coach. I’m gonna be a daddy.’
“I didn’t give a sign. I just sat there – for one minute, and I watched my son hit. I looked at the scoreboard. I looked at the fans. Two pitches later, he gets a base hit up the middle. Doug Mientkiewicz goes to third, points at Mike [Martin Jr. – who is now an assistant coach for the team] and I became a coach again. That’s one I’ll always treasure.
“The other memories I had that are special are coaching guys like Buster Posey, who came up against Miami in ’08 with the bases loaded and we’re down five,” Martin said. “The count goes to 3-2 and they threw him a slider down and he took it for ball four.
“Anybody else would have been anxious and wanting to be a hero. He took it and walked his last at bat as a Seminole. It made me proud just to know him – to see what he’s all about, to take that pitch for his team. And what’s fun now – two years later he’s in the big leagues and look what he’s doing now every night.”
Miami won the game that night, but Martin sounds like a proud poppa as he describes Posey’s walk, giving new life to the old adage that it’s not whether you win or lose, but it’s how you play the game.
Even though Omaha has embraced TCU this season, they respect what Martin has done over the years and, in turn, Martin has nothing but good things to say about the city.
“The people of Omaha are the best,” Martin said. “This is just a super place to end your season. These people have just embraced this event. They make you feel so welcome and there’s no warmer – this is the heartland of America, undoubtedly, and it’s because of the great people.”
