by Mike Hyde
Public Relations Director Next Level Baseball, LLC
Each year Coach Mike Martin routinely explains to his team that there are two seasons to be played. I recall how he would tell his Noles’ that they are now part of a tradition that has been built by the players before them. How he would illustrate with great detail how special it is to sink your cleats into the sod at Dick Howser Stadium and wear the Garnet and Gold. He would tell each and every player how fortunate he has been to be the Seminole skipper for more than thirty years. Without saying a word, he would point his finger to the east wall of the clubhouse where a mural of Florida State University is painted. Then to the west wall where Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium is depicted over the entrance to the showers. He explained that the mural of the University represents season one, or the regular season. Season two represented the post season and the road to Omaha. As a Florida State Seminole baseball player you are reminded everyday when you hit the showers of season two. For coach Martin’s 2010 club, season two is just beginning....
For this year’s Florida State Seminoles, season one was capped off by winning an ACC title. A championship that has eluded Coach Martin’s club for the past five seasons. However, many fans and alumni were not expecting the Noles’ to bring the title back to Tallahassee after being swept on the road by the Clemson Tigers in their final series. After staying away from home for more than a week and facing a more than capable Miami team in game one, I even felt that the odds were against them heading into the tournament. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t think they still had a legitimate chance. Every season Coach Martin prepares his team for every situation that could possibly arise throughout the course of the year and this season was no exception. In my opinion, this year's team has endured more ups and downs than many Seminole clubs from the past. Some of last years biggest offensive contributors have been all but absent in 2010, they have dropped more games this season to less than worthy opponents than I can remember in ten years, and the pitching staff has continued to be a roller coaster ride. All of that said, the 2010 Seminoles have proven that they are battle-tested and ready to take on anything put in front of them...including a trip to Norwich as the country’s only traveling #1 seed.
As the Noles’ head into season two I cannot help but think of the changes that occur with the transition from the regular season to the post season. During the regular season, the coaching staff is experimenting with the lineup and the pitching rotation in an attempt to find the players who are going to compete and leave it all out on the field. The freshmen are working to earn a position and the veterans are working to keep one. Meanwhile games are being played and Seminoles inevitably end up putting together their usual 40+ win season at the end of the day.
When the post season rolls around the coaching staff seems to have a better grip of which guys they like and do not like for certain situations and each player is aware of their role on the team. In the post season rolls, the slate is wiped clean and every opponent the Noles’ face will be playing their best baseball. However, the preparation and experience from the regular season cannot be forgotten in post season play. The team that takes the field today in Norwich is the same team that won 42 regular season games and the ACC Championship. If the Noles’ go out and play (in the words of Coach Martin) “Seminole Baseball,” they will find themselves in a Super Regional come next week and in line to make “season two” a championship season just as they did “season one.”
Comments? Questions? Kudos?