Former Cavalier Mike ‘Cubby’ Cubbage dies at 74

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: WVIR

One of Charlottesville’s favorite sons, Mike Cubbage, has passed away after a near year-long battle with cancer, his wife, Jan, confirmed Sunday night. Cubbage was 74 years old.

Affectionately called “Cubby” by friends, family, players and coaches, Cubbage was a former Major League Baseball player and a pro baseball manager. He retired a couple of years ago after serving as one of the top scouts for the Washington Nationals.

He was a three-sport star at Charlottesville’s Lane High School, standing out in football, basketball and baseball before moving on to become a two-sport star at the University of Virginia, playing quarterback on the football team and becoming an All-ACC selection in baseball. Cubbage came from a baseball family that included cousins Larry Haney and Chris Haney, both Major Leaguers.

Cubby was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 1971 entry draft and went through the minor leagues before he made it to the parent team, which by then had moved and became the Texas Rangers. He appeared in nine games for the Rangers in 1974, but his successful debut came a year later, going 3 for 5 and collecting 4 RBI against the California Angels on June 20, 1975.

Cubbage went on to play for the Minnesota Twins, where he hit for the cycle in a game against Toronto in July of 1978. He later signed with the New York Mets in 1981. Mostly playing at third base during his eight MLB seasons, Cubbage appeared in 703 games, batting .258 with 34 home runs and 251 RBI.

Following his playing career, Cubby managed for seven seasons in the minor leagues in the Mets organization and proudly never had a losing season, beginning in 1983. He managed Little Falls, Lynchburg, Jackson and then finally at the AAA level for the Tidewater Tides in the International League from 1987-89, helping develop several players that went on to star for the New York Mets.

Moving on to the position as third base coach for New York in the early 1990s, he was interim manager for the last seven games of the 1991 season. Eventually, Cubbage switched to the Boston Red Sox, also as third base coach and was interim manager of that club during spring training in 2002, after the Sox fired manager Joe Kerrigan.

Cubby also coached for the Houston Astros in between New York and Boston. He later moved on to work as a scout in the Tampa Bay organization before accepting a position with the Nationals, where he finished his career.

Cubbage was inducted into the state of Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. He was also a member of the UVA Baseball Hall of Fame, the Valley League Hall of Fame and the Peninsula (Va.) Sports Hall of Fame.

More will follow on the life and times of Mike Cubbage.