Florida State Seminoles baseball

The Florida State Seminoles baseball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of college baseball. Florida State competes in NCAA Division I, and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Florida State Seminoles are the second most successful NCAA Division I college baseball program in percentage of games won, with an all-time win percentage of . The Seminoles rank sixth in all-time number of total wins and third in post-season wins. The Seminoles have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 57 times, advancing to the College World Series 23 times — and have appeared in the CWS Championship Game or Championship Series on three occasions in 1970, 1986 and 1999. Florida State has won 11 regular season conference championships and 20 conference tournament championships, including eight ACC tournament titles.
Florida State has had 95 All-Americans, 41 players inducted into the Hall of Fame, and 62 players that went on to play Major League Baseball. Former Seminoles who have gone on to have success include Randy Choate, J. D. Drew, Stephen Drew, Ron Fraser, Johnny Grubb, Terry Kennedy, Doug Mientkiewicz, Shane Robinson, Larry Rothschild, Tony La Russa, Paul Sorrento, Kevin Cash, Woody Woodward, and Jameis Winston. The Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, presented annually to the top catcher in college baseball, is named for Florida State hall of famer Buster Posey. Former head coach Mike Martin is the winningest coach in the history of college baseball.
The Seminoles play their home games on campus at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium on the university's Tallahassee, Florida campus. Mike Martin Jr. is the current head coach.
Program history.
Seminole baseball is one of the most successful collegiate baseball programs in the United States having been to 23 College World Series in 55 Tournament appearances, and having appeared in the national championship final on three occasions (falling to the University of Southern California Trojans in 1970, the University of Arizona Wildcats in 1986, and the University of Miami Hurricanes in 1999).
While under the command of head coach #11 Mike Martin (FSU Alumni, 1966), Florida State became the winningest program in the history of college baseball. Since 1990, FSU has had more 50 win seasons, hosted more NCAA Tournaments, and finished in the top 10 more than any team in the nation. Since 2000, FSU has been one of the best programs in college baseball with more victories and a higher winning percentage in the regular season than any other school. FSU has made the postseason 42 years in a row. FSU also has two 60 win seasons and twenty-four 50 win seasons. FSU has hosted more Super Regional Tournaments than any team in the nation. In 2012, FSU passed Texas for the most all-time wins in regionals and super regionals. In 2014, FSU set the record for the most National Seed selections of all-time. In 2017, FSU defeated Cal-State Fullerton, in the 1000th College World Series game. FSU has never had a losing season in its history; there is no other team at any level of college baseball that has never had a losing season.
Charlie Armstrong era (1948–1951).
The first coach of the Florida State Seminoles was Charlie Armstrong, who spent four years with the program and compiled a record of 46–29.
Ralph Matherly era (1952–1954).
Ralph Matherly became the second coach of the Seminoles. Matherly served as head coach for three years and compiled a record of 43–22–1.
Danny Litwhiler era (1955–1963).
Danny Litwhiler was named as the third coach at Florida State. Litwhiler spent nine years coaching the Seminoles and compiled a record of 189–83. He is the second longest tenured coach in the history of the Florida State program.
Fred Hatfield era (1964–1968).
The fourth coach of Florida State was Fred Hatfield. Hatfield was coach of the Seminoles for five years, and he compiled a record of 157–57–1.
Jack Stallings era (1969–1974).
Jack Stallings spent six years as head coach at Florida State. Stallings compiled a record of 248–107–3, making him the second winningest coach at the school.
Woody Woodward era (1975–1978).
As the sixth coach of the Seminoles, Woody Woodward led Florida State to an overall record 174–57 in his four years spent as head coach.
Dick Howser era (1979).
Dick Howser returned to his alma mater to serve as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles for one year and guided the team to a 43–17–1 record.
Mike Martin Sr. era (1980–2019).
Mike Martin was the coach of the Seminoles for 40 years after serving as an assistant for five years. He is the winningest coach in school history and his teams never won less than 40 games a season and reached the postseason in every year of his tenure, advancing to the world series on 17 occasions; in 2017, Martin won his 1900th game, becoming just the second coach in college baseball history to reach that milestone, in 2018, he become the winningest coach in college baseball, and in his final season, he became the first coach in history to win 2,000 games. During his tenure, he had 85 players drafted in the first ten rounds of the MLB Draft including 19 first round picks.
Mike Martin Jr. era (2020–present).
On June 21, 2019, Mike Martin Jr., a former player and assistant, was named head coach of the Seminoles.
Venue.
Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium is the home of the Seminoles and is located in Tallahassee, Florida, on the campus of Florida State University. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Florida State Seminoles baseball team. It opened in 1983 and after a two-year, $12 million project was completed in 2004 to make it one of the top collegiate baseball facilities in the United States, upgrading the stadium to a 6,700 capacity level. FSU's record crowd of 6,789 was set on April 19, 2008 with a defeat of then #1 Miami Hurricanes by a score of 9–5.
Traditions.
Animals of Section B.
Before the home half of the 5th inning, a group of fans known as 'The Animals of Section B', lead the Seminoles crowd in singing the Canadian national anthem, O Canada. This tradition is claimed to have started on February 13, 1988, during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, when FSU was playing Grambling State University. During the bottom of the 5th inning, with the score tied 2–2, a member of The Animals began humming the Canadian anthem. As the Seminoles began to rally for more and more runs, more Animals joined in the humming and the team scored eight runs that inning. With baseball being a sport with a long history of superstition, The Animals have maintained the tradition ever since.
Sunday Gold's.
A tradition that began during the Mike Martin era, the Seminoles wear their gold uniforms for every game that they play on a Sunday.
Records and results.
Year-by-year results.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, C = Conference
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Polls.
Florida State has ended their baseball season ranked 53 times.
"Top-10 finishes are colored ██"
All-time record vs. ACC teams.
Florida State baseball maintains a winning percentage against all current ACC teams.
Florida State in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida State has appeared in the NCAA tournament a total of 57 times (), including 42 straight appearances, the longest active streak. The Seminoles have hosted regionals a nation-leading total of 35 times (), including eight consecutive times from 2011–2018, have been selected as a national seed a total of 11 times (), the most of any school, and have advanced to a super-regional a nation-leading total of 17 times (), including six straight appearances from 2008–2013.
College World Series.
Florida State has made twenty-three appearances in the College World Series, compiling a 30–46 record and advancing to the title game on three occasions.
Championships.
National Championship appearances.
Florida State has appeared in the College World Series National Championship game three times in 1970, 1986 and 1999.
Notable players.
Hall of Fame inductees.
Two FSU players and one coach have been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.