Former 1980 NLCS MVP Jeffrey Leonard has changed his baseball cleats for a pair of dancing shoes as he hopes to be a part of next season’s “Dancing with the Starts” according to Tim Daly of News 10.

Leonard said he was driven to dance by his wife about three years ago. “At the beginning I was a little embarrassed and intimidated,” he said.

His step daughter encouraged him to take the challenge to become the next retired athlete to be featured on the show.

“I’m basically the same guy. The same things that drove me to be a good baseball player, is driving me to be good at dance,” he added.

Currently, Leonard is preparing to compete with his wife in West Coast swing dancing.

The right handed hitter is a lifetime .266/.312/.411 hitter with 144 HR’s and 723 RBI’s in 14 Major League seasons with the Dodgers, Astros, Giants, Brewers and Mariners.