LEONARD GATES is the new star of the World Darts Championships - but he was so nearly a baseball player. Gates - from Texas - is coming off 3-1 victory over Cameron Menzies in the first round at Ally Pally. And he has gone viral for his hilarious dancing and celebrating - quickly becoming a fans' favourite.
![[Leonard Gates has gone viral for his dancing at the World Darts Championships]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/leonard-gates-celebrates-first-round-957950448_1c8038.jpg?strip=all&w=690)
But Gates admitted darts was not his initial passion and instead grew up a promising baseball player. He told talkSPORT: "Oh my god, I love the game. I still do some activities with baseball. Baseball is my first love. "I played high school, played in college, got a scholarship to go to college.
![[But he used to play baseball]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/gates1.webp?strip=all&w=418)
"When I got over to college, the scouts were like, 'This guy can hit, he has all the tools to play this and that.'". Gates' baseballs dreams were thrown a curveball in 1994 when Major League Baseball (MLB) stars went on strike over plans of a salary cap.
![[Nathan Aspinall plays Gates next]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/nathan-aspinall-reacts-first-round-916874164.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It was so serious that the then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig cancelled the World Series that season. The strike lasted 232 days and 938 regular-season games were lost across the 1994 and 1995 seasons as scouts looked for new players. READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza...
All the info:. News, features and interviews:. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS. Gates revealed: "After college, they had a strike going on. I was like, 'OK, there will be a replacement player thing.'. "But they were like, 'We don't want you as a replacement player,' they wanted me in their organisation.
