Editing Larry Walker (section)

===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/>