After the Whistle: Pocomoke’s Tony Martin
POCOMOKE, Md. – This past spring, Pocomoke baseball relied heavily on star player Tony Martin.
Martin, though, is aiming for something a lot higher than a baseball field. “I always strive to do my best. I always like to be there for people,” he said of himself.
The Pocomoke graduate was there for his team when they needed him most this season. Batting a scorching .491, Martin lived in the clutch, winning multiple games with walk-off hits. “I just walked up to the plate, just knowing that I had a job to do, I needed to get it done,” Martin said, recalling his late-game heroics, “I don’t know if there’s a better feeling than, you know, hitting that walk off, being the guy everyone runs to after you win the game.”
The 1st Team All-Bayside South shortstop took pride in the Warriors 2025 season. He felt like they surpassed expectations when there weren’t many out there ready to believe in them: “I think [it was] just being a tight team, a good group of friends, just improving each practice each week. I think it really played a big role in our improvement…I think we shocked a lot of people. We shocked ourselves as well. So I think that was a good outcome for us.”
But for all his success on the baseball diamond–it’s a different passion that has Martin’s head in the clouds. “I’ve always wanted to fly. Starting since I was young, looking up to the to the clouds, watching the planes fly by. I always thought that was awesome,” Martin said.
Martin began working toward his pilot license at 16 years old. Knowing that he can stay calm with the game on the line, there was nothing crazy about taking his talents to the cockpit thousands of feet in the sky.
Just like in baseball, the endless repetition, practice, and preparation have Martin for anything the wind might throw at at him. “We go through a lot of training, a lot of practice, emergency prep, and stuff like that,” explained Martin, “So it’s never really crossed my mind, being scared or fearing it. But you definitely just kind of go for it. You kind of just you kind of have to grab it and get to it. That’s what I like about flying.”
Martin plans to attend Liberty University in the fall, where he’ll pursue a career in aviation as an airline pilot.
