“I never smile when I have a bat in my hands. That's when you've got to be serious.”

—  Hank Aaron

As quoted in the July 31, 1956 issue of The Milwaukee Journal; reproduced in Baseball's Greatest Quotations : An Illustrated Treasury of Baseball Quotations and Historical Lore https://books.google.com/books?id=468IU6sa2VYC&pg=PA2&dq=%22I+never+smile+when+I+have+a+bat+in+my+hands%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi74bmMysjVAhWoz4MKHfK7AmsQ6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=%22I%20never%20smile%20when%20I%20have%20a%20bat%20in%20my%20hands%22&f=false (2009) by Paul Dickson, p. 2
Context: I never smile when I have a bat in my hands. That's when you've got to be serious. When I get out on the field, nothing's a joke to me. I don't feel like I should walk around with a smile on my face.

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Hank Aaron 11
Retired American baseball player 1934

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