In 1971, Mike Caldwell was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of North Carolina State after he had played for the Charlottesville Hornets of the Valley Baseball League while in college.
Now 55 years later, another lefty pitcher with Virginia connections gives the Charlottesville Tom Sox ties to the Majors – head coach Randy Tomlin, who grew up in Madison Heights, starred at Liberty University and pitched in The Show for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Here is a look at eight former Hornets and Tom Sox who have played in the big leagues, in chronological order from the time of their debut:
Mike Caldwell (Hornets, debut in 1971)
The lefty from North Carolina, the ACC Pitcher of the Year in 1971, was taken in the 12th round by the Padres and would appear in 475 games in the Majors.
Upset by the late draft pick, Caldwell lined up a job with a phone company before the Padres increased a signing bonus, according to the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR).
Fellow pitcher Jay Franklin, taken in the first round by San Diego out of James Madison High in Vienna the same year, would pitch in just three games in The Show. Both Caldwell and Franklin were called up to the Majors just months after being drafted.
Caldwell was eventually traded to the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds and then the Milwaukee Brewers, with whom he was second in the Cy Young voting in 1978 to Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees, as Caldwell won 22 games. With the Brewers in 1982, Caldwell pitched a shutout in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, who won in seven games.
A fiery competitor, Caldwell had the nickname Mr. Warmth while in the Majors.
“The nickname was partly due to his fiery demeanor on the mound. ‘He’s one of the most fierce competitors you’ll find in this business,’ former Padres’ manager Don Zimmer said.
Vic Feuerherd of Madison.com commented that Caldwell was “ornery, obnoxious, nasty and sometimes downright mean.”
“Even so, the passion Caldwell brought to the mound helped make him an instrumental part of the Milwaukee Brewers’ run to the World Series in 1982,” according to SABR.
He ended his career in 1984 with a record of 137-130 and an ERA of 3.81 in 475 games, with 307 starts.
Mike Cubbage (Hornets, 1974)
A Charlottesville native and graduate of Lane High, Cubbage was selected out of the University of Virginia by the Washington Senators in the second round in 1971. He had been selected out of high school three years earlier by the same club, in the sixth round.
“I first made the Rangers in 1974 out of Double-A baseball under (manager) Billy Martin,” Cubbage told this reporter in an interview five years ago. “Billy kept three rookies that year. The other two were Jim Sundberg, who had a nice long career, and Mike Hargrove, who was the rookie of the year. I really was just pinch-hitting and riding the bench. I came back in 1975, and Billy put me in the lineup, and I had a chance to play. Billy has a special place in my heart.”
Cubbage had his best season in 1978 when he hit .282 with the Minnesota Twins. The infielder ended his career with the New York Mets in 1981, homering off Jeff Reardon in his last at-bat in the Majors.
In 1951 at-bats in the Majors, he had 34 homers and hit .258.
Cubbage managed the Mets for seven games in 1991 and he also managed in the minors in Tidewater with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate.
Cubbage, a scout when the Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019, passed in South Carolina in 2024.
Related to former big leaguers Larry and Chris Haney, Cubbage is in the University of Virginia Athletics Hall of Fame.
Rick Honeycutt (Hornets, 1977)
Another lefty pitcher, Honeycutt was drafted out of the University of Tennessee in the 17th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976. He had been selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 14th round out of high school, but decided to attend college.
“In his first professional game, he batted cleanup even though he was the pitcher, and he hit a home run in his first at-bat,” according to baseballreference.com.
He had a varied and mostly successful career in the Majors, first as a starting pitcher and later as a reliever on playoff teams. Honeycutt was an All-Star in 1980 and 1983, led the American League in ERA in 1983 when he won 15 games, and won a World Series with the Oakland A’s in 1989.
Honeycutt also pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 30 playoff games with the Dodgers, A’s and Cardinals, with three wins and a save. After his playing career, he was the pitching coach of the Dodgers.
Vinny Pasquantino (Tom Sox, 2022)
A native of Richmond who played in college at ODU, the slugger was taken in the 11th round in 2019 by the Kansas City Royals. He hit 10 homers as a rookie in 2022, nine the next year and then 19 in 2024.
The lefty blossomed in 2025, with 33 homers and 113 RBIs and a WAR of 2.4.
Pasquantino had six homers in his first 68 games this season for the Royals.
Carson Spiers (Tom Sox, 2023)
The Clemson product and pitcher broke in with the Cincinnati Reds in 2023, appearing in four games with two starts. The South Carolina native pitched in 22 games with 10 starts for the Reds in 2024 – with an ERA of 5.46 – and appeared in three games with two starts with the club last year. He has been on the 60-day Injured List this season.
Spiers is one of several Virginia ties to the Reds: others are lefty starting pitcher and Lynchburg native Andrew Abbott, a Halifax County and University of Virginia product; fellow pitcher Rhett Lowder, who appeared in the Valley Baseball League with Strasburg; and designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe, a native of the Tidewater region.
Kyle Nicolas (Tom Sox, 2023)
Drafted out of Ball State by the Marlins in the second round in 2020, the right-handed reliever appeared in four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, 51 contests the next year and then 31 games in 2025.
Nicolas appeared in seven games with the Reds earlier this year before he was traded to the Orioles in early June.
Nicolas was sent to Triple-A Norfolk and he didn’t allow a run in his first four outings with the Tides.
Wyatt Langford (Tom Sox, 2024)
The fourth overall pick by the Texas Rangers out of the University of Florida in 2023, Langford was on the fast track to the majors. He made his debut early in 2024 with Texas and hit 16 homers as a rookie.
The Florida native followed that up by hitting 22 homers with 22 steals last season for the Rangers. In games through June 19 of this season, he was hitting .244 with four homers in 32 games.
Carlos Rodriguez (Tom Sox, 2024)
The pitcher was drafted in the sixth round out by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. He made three starts for the Brewers in 2024 and pitched in four games out of the bullpen a year ago.
Rodriguez appeared in four games as a reliever this season with an ERA of 3.86 with Milwaukee but was on the Injured List in late June.
News and notes
College World Series
West Virginia made the College World Series for the first time, and the roster of WVU included:
- Staunton’s Jackson Ingram, an infielder who played at The Miller School of Albemarle.
- JJ Glasscock, a pitcher from Fluvanna County.
- Senior pitcher Luke Lyman, from Berryville and Clarke County High.
- Senior pitcher Carson Estridge, from Battlefield High.
Estridge appeared in 22 games, Glasscock pitched in one while Lyman and Ingram didn’t see action.
Turner Ashby, Spotswood baseball
Turner Ashby lost 8-3 to New Kent in a state 3A title baseball game on June 13.
Since the state playoffs began in the early 1970s, TA has advanced to the state title game at least once each decade, save for the 1980s.
The Knights are now 7-4 in state title games.
The most state titles in baseball belongs to J.J. Kelly, with nine.
New Kent beat Spotswood, the 2025 state champ, earlier in the state playoffs.
All-region first team players from TA were Thomas Knight, Mason Mantz and Will Knicely, while Ty Howard and Landon Buracker of Spotswood were also first team, as was Colby Fesler of Broadway, Grayson Hammer of East Rockingham and Jake McWhorter of Wilson Memorial.
Travis Knight of TA was the all-region coach of the year.
Second-team all-region included Christian Brewer of Wilson Memorial, Grayson Hoover and Cam Blank of Spotswood, Jackson Powell of Waynesboro and Cooper Smith of TA.
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David Driver
