After short trials with Texas, the bespectacled redhead went to Minnesota in a 1976 trade for Bert Blyleven. In 115 games at third base in 1978, Cubbage set a Twins fielding record (.971), batted a career-high .282, and hit for the cycle. He also filled in at first base, second base, and DH until 1980. Plagued by back miseries, Cubbage finished with the Mets as the NL’s most active and successful pinch hitter in 1981 (12 for 44). He later became a manager in the Mets’ farm system.
