FSU Baseball: Regional blunder further proves Mike Martin needs to go

FSU baseball will be watching the rest of the 2018 NCAA tournament from home – and their head coach should be watching next season the same way.

Over 39 seasons as the head coach of the FSU baseball team, Mike Martin has amassed quite the resume: 13 wins shy of 2,000 for his career and currently the all time winningest coach in the history of the game, 32 conference regular season or tournament titles to go along with 16 trips to the College World Series, twice finishing as the runner up.

All of those numbers are amazing and should be celebrated for what it has meant to the Seminoles over the last almost four decades – but not a single number should be added to any of those stats.

After what took place this past weekend in Tallahassee – where the Seminoles were knocked out as a national seed for the second time in the last five seasons while hosting the regional round – FSU baseball needs a new leader in the dugout for the 2019 season.

After sending starter Drew Parrish out following a two and a half hour rain delay in Saturday’s win or go home game against Mississippi State (after losing their opener to Samford) when Parrish had already thrown over 100 pitches, Martin and everyone else watched a three run homer for the Bulldogs sail out over left field and send the Noles home for the summer.

Following the game, Martin defended his move with this logic:

"“We wanted him to have the ball because he wanted the ball. His teammates wanted him to have the ball and if I had to do it over again, I would make the same decision.”"

While it is admirable that Parrish would want the chance to come out and finish the game and his competitive nature should be applauded, the man getting paid millions to do what is best for FSU baseball needs to use all that experience to say “not so fast”. I don’t care if you have Bob Gibson in his prime on the mound for the Noles – you don’t send a starter out after a two and a half hour delay.

That stubbornness is stuck in the fact that Martin has been so good over his career numbers wise – a streak of 40 win seasons for his entire career in Tallahassee – that he has grown accustomed to no one challenging whether he is still the best man to be in that position. Quite frankly, he is not anymore.

(For the record, this is more than just about what took place this weekend – I wrote the same position a month ago after Martin set the wins record and said he should be gone even if they finally took the title in Omaha).

Florida State athletics saw what happened when things went on for too long with the football program – while Martin should be praised for his history, he shouldn’t get a free pass just because he has been around since Jimmy Carter was president. Unlike what some believe, the idea of age equalling wisdom only works if that person is willing to adapt when needed.

If the Seminoles do make the right move and send Martin out the door, they need to also not make the mistake of hiring his son Mike Jr. just because he’s the next in line – because it will be the same system and nothing will change (like a football coach in waiting) . FSU athletics needs to look outside of the box for the program’s best interest.

Next: FSU Baseball suffers biggest embarrassment in regional sweep

I don’t write this post lightly – as a FSU alum, I have cheered Martin and defending him countless times even when his moves were mistakes. As a Seminole, I have to cheer for the best interest of the program. That means thanking Mike Martin for all he has done and getting him the best seats in the stands of Dick Howser Stadium to watch the 2019 season.