Quotes by Hank Aaron

Can I smoke now without someone taking my picture?
– Hank Aaron
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
– Hank Aaron
Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution.
– Hank Aaron
I can't recall a day this year or last when I did not hear the name of Babe Ruth.
– Hank Aaron
I don't see pitches down the middle anymore - not even in batting practice.
– Hank Aaron
I don't want them to forget Ruth, I just want them to remember me!
– Hank Aaron
I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn't throw it past me, none of them.
– Hank Aaron
I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you're inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you've never seen before. If they do, I'm still looking for it.
– Hank Aaron
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.
– Hank Aaron
I'm hoping someday that some kid, black or white, will hit more home runs than myself. Whoever it is, I'd be pulling for him.
– Hank Aaron
It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
– Hank Aaron
Last year, I was sort of a kid and I was a little scared, I ain't scared any more.
– Hank Aaron
My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
– Hank Aaron
On the field, blacks have been able to be super giants. But, once our playing days are over, this is the end of it and we go back to the back of the bus again.
– Hank Aaron
Roger Maris lost his hair the season he hit sixty-one, I still have all my hair, but when it's over, I'm going home to Mobile and fish for a long time.
– Hank Aaron
The pitcher has got only a ball. I've got a bat. So the percentage in weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.
– Hank Aaron
The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them.
– Hank Aaron
You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail.
– Hank Aaron
You got to play a hundred and fifty games a year, so pick your spots. You can miss two games a month; so pick the days you're gonna be hurt, or you're gonna rest or you're gonna have a drink or two. The rest of the time, be on that field.
– Hank Aaron
The thing I like about baseball is that it's one-on-one. You stand up there alone, and if you make a mistake, it's your mistake. If you hit a home run, it's your home run.
– Hank Aaron
I don't feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat.
– Hank Aaron
Failure is a part of success.
– Hank Aaron