Editing Larry Walker (section)

==Early life and amateur career==

{{quote box
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|quote=I'm just thrilled to have kids come up to me and tell me my son is their idol.  He deserves everything he's got.
|source=—Larry Walker Sr., on Walker's baseball success, per his Canadian Sports Hall of Fame profile
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Larry Kenneth Robert Walker Jr. was born on December 1, 1966, in [[Maple Ridge, British Columbia|Maple Ridge]], a [[suburb]] of [[Greater Vancouver]] in [[British Columbia]], to Larry Sr., and Mary Walker, both of [[Scottish Canadians|Scottish descent]]. Larry Jr. was the youngest of four boys, Barry, Carey and Gary. The five men often played together in a [[fastpitch softball]] league, frequently all in the same starting lineup. Walker grew up passing much of his free time playing [[street hockey]], especially as part of a group of boys in the backyard and driveway of another boy named Rick Herbert. In that group was future [[Hockey Hall of Fame]]r [[Cam Neely]], who became one of Walker's close friends. Walker dreamed of a career in the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) as a [[goaltender]], only casually playing an occasional [[baseball]] game during the summer.

He played hockey and [[volleyball]] at [[Maple Ridge Secondary School]]; baseball was not offered.<ref name=cohen122115>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Alan |url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/129976b6 |title=Larry Walker |work=[[Society of American Baseball Research]] |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref> One of his boyhood idols was NHL goalie [[Billy Smith (ice hockey)|Billy Smith]],<ref name=montville040593>{{cite magazine |last=Montville |first=Leigh |author-link=Leigh Montville |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1993/04/05/128319/the-accidental-ballplayer-larry-walker-always-dreamed-of-playing-in-montreal----for-a-hockey-team |title=The accidental ballplayer: Larry Walker always dreamed of playing in Montreal—for a hockey team |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=April 5, 1993 |access-date=April 24, 2011}}</ref> winner of four consecutive [[Stanley Cup]]s from [[1980 Stanley Cup Finals|1980]]−[[1983 Stanley Cup Finals|83]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/smithbi01.html |title=Billy Smith stats |work=Hockey-Reference.com |access-date=July 9, 2017}}</ref> during Walker's teenage years. Walker sharpened his skills by blocking [[Shot (ice hockey)|shots]] against Neely. Brother Carey, also a goaltender, was drafted by the [[Montreal Canadiens]]<ref name=cohen122115/> in the 12th round of the [[1977 NHL Amateur Draft|1977 NHL Draft]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=7455 |title=Carey Walker hockey statistics and profile |work=Hockeydb.com |access-date=July 9, 2017}}</ref>

===Junior hockey===
At the age of 16, Walker was offered tryouts with Junior A teams in [[Regina, Saskatchewan]], and [[Kelowna|Kelowna, British Columbia]], however, he was cut from both teams,<ref name=jaffe121516>{{cite magazine |last=Jaffe |first=Jay |url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2016/12/15/jaws-2017-hall-of-fame-ballot-larry-walker |title=JAWS and the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot: Larry Walker |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=December 15, 2016 |access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref> while Herbert made the [[Regina Pats]].<ref name=montville040593/> Other offers Walker received were from [[Western Hockey League]] teams, including [[Swift Current Broncos|Swift Current]], which he toured. After seeing substandard conditions there, he decided that he no longer wanted to pursue hockey once he arrived at the rink,<ref name=cohen122115/> and subsequently focused his athletic aspirations on baseball.<ref name=jaffe121516/>

===Amateur baseball===
The popularity of baseball in Canada during Walker's youth was minuscule in contrast to the following he would help spawn related to his later success with the [[Montreal Expos]].<ref name=sickels050811>{{cite web |last=Sickels |first=John |url=https://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/5/8/2156304/career-profile-larry-walker |title=Career Profile: Larry Walker |work=MinorLeagueBall.com |date=May 8, 2011 |access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> Previously, Canadian baseball luminaries included [[Tip O'Neill (baseball)|Tip O'Neill]], the first Canadian to win a [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crown]] back in [[1887 Major League Baseball season|1887]], and [[Ferguson Jenkins]], Canada's first selectee to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|American Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1991|1991]]. It was Walker who would help dramatically increase the profile of the sport in a hockey-mad nation.<ref name=richer120312>{{cite news |last=Richer |first=Clayton |url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/fanfuel/mlb-insiders-vote-greatest-canadian-baseball-player/ |title=Fan Fuel: MLB Insiders vote on greatest Canadian baseball player |work=[[Sportsnet]].ca |date=December 3, 2012 |access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref> Part of the factor are Canada's short summers, which make it more challenging to play outdoors than in the [[United States]]. Recalled Walker later in his major league career, "I'd never seen a [[forkball]], never seen a [[Slider (baseball)|slider]]. I didn't know they existed. I had never really seen a good [[curveball]]. In Canada, as a kid, we'd play 10 baseball games a year. Fifteen, tops. Some pitchers had a thing they'd call a spinner, but nothing like this. Baseball just wasn't big. The weather was against it. Nobody ever played baseball thinking about making the major leagues." He was also unaware of many of the rules, attesting to his lack of experience playing when he turned a professional.<ref name=cohen122115/>

In 1984, Walker played for the [[Coquitlam Reds]] of the [[British Columbia Premier Baseball League]]. He was selected to join the Canadian team at the 1984 World Youth Championships in [[Kindersley]], [[Saskatchewan]]. At that tournament, he caught the eye of Expos [[Scout (sport)|scouting]] director [[Jim Fanning]] after hitting a [[home run]] with a wooden bat, in contrast to all the other players who were using metal bats. Fanning signed Walker for $1,500 ([[United States dollar|USD]], ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1500|1984|r=1}}}} today) as an amateur [[free agent]] owing to his relative lack of experience playing organized baseball.<ref name=cohen122115/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hMmgM-zqII4C&q=Larry+Walker DeMarco, Tony, "Larry Walker: Canadian Rocky" ''Sports Publishing LLC'', 1999, p. 6–10. Retrieved through Google Books April 24, 2011]</ref> At that time, Canadians were not eligible to be selected through the [[Major League Baseball draft]]. While the Expos perceived Walker to be very athletic, they decided that he was very raw, and that he did not initially warrant rating as a top prospect.<ref name=sickels050811/>