Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #81: Mike Cubbage: The Reluctant Manager Nobody Saw Coming

Last week, we looked back at Frank Howard, the towering slugger who somehow made every bat look like a toothpick. If "Hondo" was baseball's version of Paul Bunyan, this week's Forgotten Face is almost his opposite—a man who never sought the spotlight but found himself standing directly under it.

Meet Mike Cubbage.

Let's be honest. When Mets fans think about managers, names like Gil Hodges, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine, and Terry Collins usually come to mind. Mike Cubbage? He's more of a sports bar trivia-night answer than a household name.

But for one strange week in September 1991, he was the man in charge.

Cubbage had already lived a baseball life most players would envy. A standout athlete from Virginia, he played both baseball and football in college before making his way to the major leagues. Over eight seasons with the Rangers, Twins, and finally the Mets in 1981, he earned a reputation as a dependable infielder who could fill just about any role a manager asked of him. Flashy? Not really. Reliable? Absolutely.

When his playing days ended, he didn't disappear. Instead, he quietly climbed the Mets' organizational ladder, managing at nearly every level of the farm system. From Little Falls to Lynchburg, then Jackson and eventually Triple-A Tidewater, Cubbage spent years helping develop the next generation of Mets. It wasn't glamorous work, but it was the kind of baseball education that can't be learned from a binder full of analytics.

By 1990, he had returned to Queens as the Mets' third base coach under Bud Harrelson.

Then came September 1991.

The Mets were limping through another disappointing season, and ownership decided it was time for a change. Harrelson was dismissed with only seven games remaining.

Enter Mike Cubbage.

Imagine showing up to work expecting to spend your afternoon waving runners home from third base, only to be told, "Congratulations...you're managing the New York Mets tonight."

No lengthy search committee. No introductory press conference. No dramatic music. Just, "Cubby, you're up."

Cubbage handled the assignment the same way he'd handled nearly every job in baseball—with professionalism, preparation, and very little fanfare. His stint lasted only seven games, and the Mets finished 3-4 under his watch. While it wasn't enough to earn the full-time job, it did earn him something few people can ever claim.

He managed the New York Mets.

That's a sentence that carries a little weight, even if it lasted just one week.

Cubbage remained on the Mets' coaching staff for several more seasons before continuing his baseball journey with the Astros and later the Red Sox. Everywhere he went, players praised his baseball knowledge and steady personality. He wasn't interested in headlines. He was interested in helping teams win.

Mike Cubbage passed away in August 2024 at the age of 74, leaving behind a baseball career that stretched from the playing field to the dugout and touched countless players along the way.

Baseball history is filled with stars whose stories are told over and over again. But it's also built on men like Mike Cubbage—the dependable baseball lifers who answered every call, even the ones they never expected to receive.

Sometimes Forgotten Faces of Flushing aren't remembered for what they accomplished over decades.

Sometimes they're remembered for seven unforgettable games...and for being ready when baseball unexpectedly knocked on the dugout door.