After more than two decades as an assistant coach, Mike Martin Jr. began his first fall practice this week as the head coach of the Florida State baseball program.
In a Q&A with Warchant's Corey Clark, Martin Jr. talks about how practice is going, what feels different, how he's adjusting to the new role and how involved his father has already been through the first week of fall ball.
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Q: Are you still going to be the third-base coach?
A: Oh yeah.
Q: How has practice has changed? Not just for you, but the structure of it?
A: They're faster. Again, I'm big into psychological warfare. I want our guys out on the field when the other team is coming off. And vice versa. It's almost like to show that we're in better shape. It's not necessarily true, but it does send that message. We're ready to play. We're going to play hyper. We're going to play upbeat. So practices are kind of that way as well.
Q: Give me an example.
A: I just want guys moving. I want them moving all the time. It's a little more vocal. The psychological side from your teammates. The more times you hear how well you're doing or whatever the case may be, the better you're going to perform. So more communication, if you will, from player to player.
Q: How has your role changed within a practice? If at all?
A: It has. Because I've got the infielders. And catching and all that is still the same. Terminology -- things that I say that haven't necessarily been said before. I'm also trying to get a ruling on it, but I want to have the pitch come straight from the dugout. So that there's no looking and then (the catcher has) to put down a signal. There's too many rumors of teams, there are tons of people that have cameras in center field that I'm hearing about. We all talk among ourselves when we're out on the road. So I want eliminate that. I want the pitcher to know that there's no way they're picking up anything as far as what's coming. But also, it will just speed it up. The pitch is delivered. Boom. Catch it. Get (the call) from the bench. Throw it. Let's go. We'll see how it works. We're going to try it out.
Q: You've always been a big presence in the program, obviously, but have you taken a more vocal role this year than recent years?
A: Yeah. To pitchers. I never said anything to pitchers for the most part. ... It means a little bit more when it comes from the guy who really makes the decisions. That's been fun. Reading the body language and the mindset and whether he chickened out on a pitch or whatever. It's generally that stuff. I'm not in the mechanics and all that.
