Blake Martin
David Blake Martin was born on June 19, 1986, in Gadsden, Alabama, to David and Kayla Martin of Boaz. David has been the Senior Pastor at Mount Vernon Baptist Church for 24 years, and Kayla is a policy nurse with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama. Blake has a younger sister Heather, who was a Boaz High School cheerleader under Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dee Anne Ashley and teaches at Albertville Elementary School.
Blake played baseball and basketball in the Boaz Recreation Center leagues as a youth. When Blake was 11, the Martins moved to New Orleans for two years, so that David could attend seminary. While living there, Blake played for the Kenilworth baseball team. They went 25-0 and won the New Orleans city championship. After moving back to Boaz, Blake continued playing in youth leagues and on travel teams, like the Bama Bombers and Madison Monarchs.
Blake entered Boaz High School in the fall of 2000. He was a four-year letterman on the basketball team for Coach Eric Dyar and Coach Lance Kitchens. He also served as the mascot for the Boaz football team, donning the Pirate costume and leading the team onto the field each Friday night. Baseball, however, was Blake’s calling card. His crafty, powerful left-handed delivery from the pitcher’s mound earned him the nickname “Snake.”
After spending his freshman year on the JV and making a spot appearance occasionally on the varsity, he became a full-time varsity Pirate during his sophomore campaign. As an underclassman, “Snake” honed his velocity and control under BHS Head Coach Eric Whaley and pitching coach, fellow 2024 inductee Coach Drew Noles. In 2004, Blake’s senior year, Coach Nickey Dixon became the Pirates’ head coach, and the pitching staff excelled. Blake and his mound mates broke the A.H.S.A.A. state record for most strikeouts in a season with 387, a standard that stood for 15 years. Blake posted an 8-3 record with a 0.46 ERA and struck out 160 batters while walking only 16. “Snake” earned numerous individual accolades, including being named the Marshall County Player of the Year, being selected Class 4A All-State by the Alabama Sportswriters’ Association, and playing in the East-West All-Star game. The Pirates won the Marshall County Tournament that year as well. For his career, he finished with 352 strikeouts, which was 9th all-time in AHSAA history.
After graduating from B.H.S., Blake signed to play baseball at Birmingham-Southern College for legendary Coach Brian Shoop. At the time, Birmingham-Southern was an NCAA Division I school. While at BSC, Blake was a key cog in the Panthers’ success. In April 2006, he was honored as the Big South Conference Pitcher of the Week. The Panthers were Big South Conference Champions in 2006. While a player at BSC, Blake also pitched in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate Baseball League, the most elite summer league in the country for prospective Major Leaguers. As a member of the Waterloo Bucs of Waterloo, Iowa, he made the league’s all-star team in 2005 and was named the #3 prospect in the Northwoods League by Baseball America magazine. In 2007, he was named the #9 prospect in the league as a member of the Wisconsin Woodchucks by Baseball America.
In May of 2006, Birmingham-Southern dropped from NCAA Division I to Division III and did not offer athletic scholarships anymore. As a result, Blake lost his scholarship. Coach Shoop knew Blake’s career needed to continue, so he contacted Hall of Fame Coach Skip Bertman at LSU, a five-time National Champion. Bertman liked the rangy lefty and offered Blake a scholarship. “Snake” signed with the Tigers, but his junior season was derailed thanks to a hip issue and eventual surgery. He used a medical redshirt for the 2007 season. Once he got healthy, Blake and the Tigers enjoyed much success. During the 2008 season, Blake became the Friday night starter. LSU won the SEC West and swept through the SEC Tournament. Blake got the win in game 2 of the tournament over Vanderbilt. The Tigers hosted the NCAA Regional and defeated UC-Irvine to win the regional. Blake started in LSU’s regional win over Southern Miss and got a no-decision. After winning the regional, the Tigers qualified for the College World Series at legendary Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. Blake was tabbed the game three starter against North Carolina facing elimination. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost the game and were eliminated.
Individual honors for “Snake” included being named the Louisiana Sportswriters Player/Pitcher of the Week for April 21-29, 2008. He was also selected to the SEC All-Academic Honor Roll and the SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team. Blake finished the year with a 5-3 record and started 18 games for the Tigers, which tied for the SEC lead in games started. He recorded 81 strikeouts and 37 walks in 88.2 innings, and limited opponents to just a .252 batting average.
Blake was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 17th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He spent six years in the Twins organization at affiliates in Elizabethton, Tennessee, (Rookie); Beloit, Wisconsin (A); Fort Myers, Florida (Advanced A); New Britain, Connecticut (AA); and Rochester, New York (AAA). He pitched in 191 minor league games, mainly as a middle reliever, winning 19 games and saving 4.
On November 23, 2013, Blake married the former Ashley McMaster from Shreveport, Louisiana. The couple have two children: daughter Dottie and son Carver. Blake currently works as a Senior Software Engineer at Southwest Airlines. Ashley is Director of Sales at a software company. The family now lives in Dallas, Texas, where Blake plays baseball with the North Texas Amateur Baseball League’s Dallas Panthers.