FSU Baseball: Major chapter of Miami rivalry ends with Martin’s departure

FSU baseball will head down to Coral Gables this weekend for a three game series that will put an end to one of the great chapters in baseball rivalries.

As fans of the Florida State Seminoles, we all know that our beloved garnet and gold are one of the few teams in the country who plays two major college in-state rivals in virtually every sport – and while the more important foe to beat each season is usually the Florida Gators for most teams, the FSU baseball team would be one of the few that might go for door number two.

Throughout their history, the annual battles with the Miami Hurricanes have not just been among the best in the state or even the region, but one could argue that there has been no better rivalry in all of college baseball than the one that takes place in Tallahassee and Coral Gables.

Since their first meeting in Miami on March 23, 1951 (with FSU baseball getting their first win in the series the following day), the Seminoles and Hurricanes have met a total of 286 times – the most for the Noles against any foe – that includes 14 meetings in the postseason highlighted by their game in 1999 for the national title.

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It was the college baseball rivalry that gave two of the game’s greats a chance to face off sometimes as many as six times during the regular season (when the teams were non-conference foes and played three times a year at each campus) when Mike Martin would match up with Miami’s Ron Fraser.

Fraser, himself a former FSU baseball player before heading south to rebuild the Hurricanes, has long been considered the man who put college baseball on the map – but it was a 13 season stretch from 1980 to 1992 where he would stage some epic battles with the man who would become the first college coach in any sport to win 2,000 games in a career.

After Fraser retired and Miami took a step back in 1993, Martin faced another ‘Canes skipper with FSU baseball ties as Jim Morris – who served as an assistant for Martin’s first two seasons as head coach with the Seminoles – took over in 1994 and spent the next 25 seasons facing off with his former boss in a relationship where cold might be the best word to describe it.

The respect Martin had with Fraser was gone, but the rivalry was as hot as ever and went into the national spotlight when the teams met for the 1999 College World Series crown that the Hurricanes would win 6-5. Martin got a measure of payback the following season when the Seminoles beat Miami in the Super Regional round and went back to Omaha.

While the Seminoles and ‘Canes could still meet in the ACC Tournament next month, this will be the last time (barring an odd placement of teams in the NCAA tournament or Super Regional possible parings) that Martin will face his hated foes in a scheduled game – and with his departure the end of an era in college baseball’s greatest rivalry.

This season, Martin will face longtime Miami assistant Gino DiMare – who played for the Hurricanes and was an assistant for over two decades…oh, and who is also the brother of former Seminoles wide receiver Scott DiMare – before saying goodbye to the rivalry for a final time.

The names on the front of the jerseys – FSU baseball and Miami – will always keep it up there, but baring the Seminoles hiring Mike Martin Jr. to replace his father, the 2020 season will be the first time since 1962 that someone named Martin, Fraser or Morris has managed in the rivalry.

But for at least three more games this season, the annual battles between the Seminoles and Hurricanes will feature the man who has stuck around for the longest span – before closing an epic chapter.