Legendary former Florida State coach Mike Martin dies after battle with dementia

Former Florida State coach Mike Martin has died at age 79 following a difficult bout with dementia.

The Florida State baseball team confirmed the news on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

“Today we mourn with the Martin family the passing of a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and baseball coach,” the team’s account wrote. “Rest in Peace, 11.”

Martin began battling Lewy body dementia in the summer of 2021, shortly after he retired from coaching after a long and successful career. He had a long battle with the debilitating condition before ultimately passing away.

“He’s changed – that’s the progression of that terrible disease,” Martin’s wife Carol told the Tallahassee Democrat in October 2023. “It’s so heartbreaking for me to see my companion of 58 years progressing down that path. It’s a 24/7 proposition. He’s not with us.

“He’s in his own little world.”

Carol revealed that occasionally Martin would forget where he was and shout out baseball instructions during some of his bouts with dementia.

And for a long time, baseball was life for Mike Martin.

Martin began coaching at Florida State in 1980 and led the program on the one the most unprecedented runs in the history of the sport. Florida State won at least 40 games in every season Martin was at the helm, reaching the College World Series 17 times.

While Florida State never managed to win a national title, the Seminoles were a mainstay in postseason play.

Martin was regarded as one of the most respected voices of the sport, a constant presence amid changing dynamics over the years. That’s one of the reasons his descent into dementia was likely so difficult for the family.

“He will want me to tell the boys to hit the cut-off man,” Carol told the Democrat. “We laugh at some of the things that transpire – though it is a tragedy. You try to laugh to lift your spirits. In his mind at these times, he’s okay and still doing what he loves.

“We are hoping in his mind he’s happy and at peace.”

With his battle now over, Mike Martin may indeed rest in peace.