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11: Making Baseball History




11: Making Baseball History follows this legendary coach through his 40th and final season (2019) as he leaves his indelible imprint on the game of college baseball. The author, Jim Crosby, in his 45th year of covering Seminole baseball, also delves into Martin's past achievements revealing how he led his Seminole teams to unmatched heights in the NCAA record books-a story that was 40 years in the making.




The way Martin shaped FSU baseball into an elite program was in direct proportion to hard work and a faith-based approach. In the book: 11: Making Baseball History, author Jim Crosby, who has covered Seminole Sports for 40-plus years, captured the highs and lows of 11's historic career. Martin followed two Major Leaguers, Woody Woodward and Dick Howser, as FSU's head coach and took Seminole Baseball to unmatched heights of greatness. When his 40-year coaching career ended, he had won more games than any college coach in any sport ever had. He did it the right way and has made all of us Seminoles proud of his accomplishments. 11: Making Baseball History is not only a book about the fun and excitement of baseball, but it shows us how a principled approach to life and work excels even beyond wins and losses on the playing field.

-Charlie Ward, Heisman Trophy, 1993




In my 40 years of coaching Florida State baseball, there were many thrills. As I look back and recall the privilege of wearing that garnet-and-gold uniform and representing such a great university, I am proud of what was accomplished on and off the baseball diamond. In the book 11: Making Baseball History, longtime Seminole broadcaster Jim Crosby has captured the true essence of those exciting times. It is a book that any sports fan would enjoy, and all Seminoles can be proud of.

-Mike Martin, #11

Mike Martin was born on February 12th-Abraham Lincoln's birthday. And like the man who rose to the highest position in America, President of the United States, Martin also reached the top of his profession-Baseball.

Referred to by his players, coaches, and fans simply as "11", the number Martin wore on his garnet-and-gold Seminole uniform for 40 years as the head baseball coach, he now stands alone atop the record books. This is the story of the history-making career of a colorful, highly competitive coach who strives as hard to beat you in a game of horseshoes or a round of golf as he would to win a baseball game for the Seminoles.

Those who have been around 11 for any length of time have learned not to tell him he can't do something, or he darn sure will. This dates to his boyhood when his dad told him to forget about baseball. He said that in the long run, it was just a game, and Mike would never amount to anything sticking to it. In 2019, as Martin began the 40th season of a historic career, he said: "I'm still trying to prove him wrong."

11: Making Baseball History follows this legendary coach through his 40th and final season (2019) as he leaves his indelible imprint on the game of college baseball. The author, Jim Crosby, in his 45th year of covering Seminole baseball, also delves into Martin's past achievements revealing how he led his Seminole teams to unmatched heights in the NCAA record books-a story that was 40 years in the making. Jim Crosby