Leonard Gates may be impressive at tossing arrows, but it turns out there’s something he was even better at throwing in his heyday.
Gates, 54, is riding the crest of an emotional wave after he beat Cameron Menzies 3-1 in the first round of the World Darts Championship on Monday.
However, it was only 26 years ago that Gates was forging a career of his own in a completely different sport altogether.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Gates opened up on his journey in baseball, where his exploits at collegiate level caught the eye of a two-time World Series champion.
“Oh my god, I love the game,” Gates said.
“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.
“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 attended Texas Southern University in Houston, which was only a three-hour drive from San Antonio, where he was born.
As a player, Gates was somewhat of a jack of all trades.
His best position, in his own words, was catcher.
But Gates also played as a first baseman and a relief pitcher.
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Gates’ dream of playing in the majors was thrown a serious curveball in 1994 when the stars of Major League Baseball (MLB) went on strike over the owners’ desire to bring in a salary cap.
Such was the seriousness of the strike, then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig cancelled the World Series that season.
The strike lasted a staggering 232 days as a 938 regular-season games were lost across the 1994 and 1995 campaigns.
Luckily for Gates, the strike opened up the window of opportunity.
“After college, they had a strike going on,” Gates said.
“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.
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“So the [Philadelphia] Phillies got me. The [Atlanta] Braves were looking at me, there was a lot of pro teams looking at me.
“But their thing was, ‘We don’t know what to do with him because I played so many positions, and I was good at all of them.”
Unfortunately for Gates, he never made an appearance for the Phillies.
However, he did spend time with a handful of minor league franchises.
From 1995 to 1998, Gates played for the Abilene Prairie Dogs, Massachusetts Mad Dogs, Catskill Cougars and the Nashua Pride.
Sadly Gates never hit a home run in that time but registered 15 hits and stole two bases, showcasing his lightning speed.
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Although baseball will remain Gates’ true love, he revealed how he was bitten by the darts bug during the off-season.
“When I was between seasons of baseball, some buddies of mine were playing darts at a pub we hung out at,” Gates said.
“I was like, ‘Hey, man, what y’all doing?’ I grabbed the darts, tried it and I’m like, ‘You know what, I can do this.’
“It’s less stress on the knees, it’s short distance. I started then and here I am doing it now.”
Although Gates may never have got to shine at some of baseball’s most iconic venues, he still gets to entertain crowds in darts.
The American has already set a high bar for walk-ons at this year’s World Championship by copying a Fortnite dance along with passionate celebrations when nailing checkouts.
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Who knows what the 54-year-old has in store for his second round match against world No. 10 Nathan Aspinall, with the pair playing in the headline match during Wednesday’s evening session.
A victory over Aspinall – who was knocked out in the second round of the World Championships last year – would undoubtedly be the biggest win of Gates’ career.
Where to buy Luke Littler’s darts range
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Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler has released a collection with Target Darts, with prices starting at just £14.95.
Choose from darts, hardware and accessories endorsed by the Grand Slam of Darts Champion 2024, or pick up The Nuke’s purple playing shirt, on the Target Darts website.
Highlights include: