MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 24, 2026

Cooper Pratt

David Hamilton

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. This question is for both of you. I think you both caught throws from William Contreras yesterday for an out on a steal. What is the key to working with him on that? What I mean is is it anticipation or your positioning? Maybe he even gets a look in his eye where you know somebody is stealing before you even know the runner is coming. How does that work for both of you with him?

DAVID HAMILTON: I think for William he's always ready to go, ready to throw. I think he likes throwing, and he likes showing it off. I think that's just William.

COOPER PRATT: Yeah, he's got a cannon. I don't think there's any -- you see him run, you take off towards the bag, and he throws it on the money. I don't really know what much more to say about it. I know he's got a cannon, and he throws it on the target.

Q. From an offensive standpoint as a hitter and particularly as a left-handed hitter, what's it like watching Ashby carve up guys?

DAVID HAMILTON: We've had the intersquads when we've had the off days, and I'm glad I haven't had to face him yet because he's pretty nasty. We were in the intersquad the other day and threw a curveball and G-Mitch buckled. You see that often with Ash. I'm glad he's on our team and not the other team.

Q. For both, how do you manage nerves before and during a World Series game?

COOPER PRATT: Breathing (laughter). No. I mean, going through the postseason, you definitely get better at -- at least for me, better at handling it. The first game, games against San Diego, it was kind of like my first taste of that, and it kind of felt like my debut almost.

Then every game after, you start to be more comfortable, be more relaxed, remember that it's the same game, and it starts to feel like the same game. You still get chills before the game when they do the anthems and stuff like that, but I'd probably say breathing and remembering to take a deep breath helps me the most.

DAVID HAMILTON: Yeah, I'd say the same as Coop. Just trying to take a deep breath, relax as much as possible, even though it's hard with especially our crowd and how loud it gets, but just trying to remember that it's the same game but just a little bit more on the line.

Q. Along those lines, considering the buildup, it had been a week since you guys were on the field, obviously home game of the World Series, what were you expecting from the crowd last night, and how did the reality of it kind of play out and affect you guys on the field or impact of that on the game?

COOPER PRATT: I expected it to be packed. I saw the prices of tickets, so I knew there was going to be -- I mean, if people are willing to pay it, there's going to be a lot of people. I don't think there was a seat that was left open. I looked up, and all I saw was heads during the national anthem.

It's incredible. It's incredible to see. To hear them is pretty sick. Definitely to win for them and for the city is fantastic. They're really loud.

DAVID HAMILTON: I would say that it's cool seeing all the fans here like before the game for the anthem. We go to other stadiums and it's like half full when the anthem is going on, and we come out there and it's already packed. Fans are loud, and they bring the energy.

Q. David, you were drafted by the Brewers, you were in the organization for a little bit, and then left and came back. What are some things, if there are any, that you remember that the Brewers emphasized in the minors when you were here that you now see playing out on the Big League level?

DAVID HAMILTON: Honestly, I've got a really bad memory. I don't really remember that far back. I feel like I do remember just the small ball aspect of the game. They emphasize that a lot, a lot on defense. We've got to play good defense. Yeah, I don't really remember too much about that, though.

Q. Along those same lines with Cooper, defensively, I remember seeing you in Nashville, and they were like you could play shortstop already. They knew that, that your defense was great. How do the Brewers communicate that to players about the importance of being a good defender and turning batted balls into outs?

COOPER PRATT: If you look at our team, everyone's a good defender -- except for Hamilton.

(Laughter.)

I'm just kidding. You go through the lineup, and everyone can field their position to a high level. I think like -- I mean, you take that. We're a defensive team that hits, plays the game the right way, bunts. We don't hit the most home runs, it's more of just get on base, get him over, get him in, and play defense.

We've had a lot of success. Yeah, guys like Turang, Sal, Chourio, Hammy, Joey, Contreras that are unbelievable defenders, and to have that, it's almost like a confidence to the pitchers too that you can go out and pitch and the defense is going to make a play.

I just think, from my personal opinion, they just really, really teach defense, and they teach base running -- they teach everything small. Everything small they teach, and they pride themselves on it for sure. We've got a lot of good defenders on this team.

Q. Cooper, throughout this run have you encountered any other teammates that are also Fanta aficionados?

COOPER PRATT: On our team? No, they all just drink the champagne and the beer.

Q. Is it just a celebration drink for you?

COOPER PRATT: It's more religious than anything.

Q. Do you have Fanta at home?

COOPER PRATT: I mean, not really. I kind of just water, et cetera, but I just walked into the -- we didn't have any sparkling cider, and I just walked into the cafeteria, and there was Fantas in a glass bottle, it was like hey.

I didn't expect it to blow up like it did. I just kind of grabbed them because I didn't want to feel left out. Now everyone keeps sending me pictures of their Fanta.

Q. You guys just played in your first-ever World Series game. How did it feel, and was it different than you thought it would be?

DAVID HAMILTON: It felt surreal, I guess. At the end of the day, it's the same game, but yeah, it was a cool atmosphere. I'm glad we won.

COOPER PRATT: I think it felt no different than Game 1. I think every playoff game has kind of felt the same. They're all just as important. I don't really see it as, oh, it's the World Series. I just kind of see it as, oh, it's another playoff game, no different than if we were playing the Padres or Dodgers.

Q. Cooper, you talked about all the great defenders on this team, but I just wonder, playing next to Brice, Platinum Glove winner, what has he kind of taught you, or what have you kind of learned from just playing next to him for these last few months?

COOPER PRATT: Yeah, he has a Platinum Glove. I think he's on the ballot for a Gold Glove this year too. It speaks for itself. He makes my job a whole lot easier. I can just throw it over there anywhere, and he'll catch it and throw it to first.

There's balls in the 4 hole that I'm like sure are base hits, and then like sure enough, he's fielding and spinning and throwing to first base. He's an unbelievable defender. He's fun to watch and kind of take some of the things he does and try to add it to your bag or stuff like that and just kind of see how he works and stuff. It's really impressive.

Q. Is there anything you think about or do to prepare yourself for when you're settling under a pop-up in the eventuality it hits the roof and you have to react quickly?

DAVID HAMILTON: I don't think you can prepare for that. We don't really practice that. It's kind of hard to hit the balls that high.

Q. It's just react on the moment?

COOPER PRATT: Yeah, I've never seen it happen. I mean, Chourio did a good job of catching that. I didn't even know it hit the roof.

Q. Is there anything you've seen around town the last week or so that gives you the feeling, yeah, it's a little bit different around here than it's been previous in the season?

DAVID HAMILTON: I'd say all the media for sure. Especially media day, was it two days ago, just seeing all the people around. Yeah, that's about it.

Q. Cooper, I know you got asked about it post-game, that last play of the game, the double play, but when you got home last night or even this morning, did you have a chance to watch it back, and what were your thoughts when you did watch it back?

COOPER PRATT: I mean, it didn't really matter because we ended up winning the game. I don't know, you can't -- I couldn't really tell. I saw a bunch of videos. I couldn't really tell if I was on or off. Some videos, it looked like my cleat was touching. Some looked like it was completely off. So I don't know.

I mean, they have enough people in that room probably to figure it out. So just glad they could pick me up and won the game, and it wasn't bigger than it needed to be.

Q. At the start of the year, you faced that decision about the contract that was in front of you. With the benefit of hindsight now, how do you think that changed, your season changed the whole way this has unfolded, and what advice would you give to another player next year who's in that same position?

COOPER PRATT: I think it was more of a personal decision. I don't know if it was like -- it's all personal. Like I wouldn't say for someone to do it or not to do it if they were in the same situation. I think that's just your choice, I guess, or what you're feeling.

I feel like it was the right decision for me, especially to kind of just forget about all the stuff outside of baseball and just be able to play and not worry about that and just play more relaxed. I feel like after about the first month I started to do that.

I can't really answer the question because everyone's different. You see guys that say no and ends up being just fine and guys that say yes that end up being just fine. So I don't really know how to answer it. I just feel like it was the best decision for me at the time, and it's kind of cool that this year that happened and now we're in the World Series and all this stuff.

I don't really know how to -- I think it was just a personal decision for me.

Q. David and Cooper, I know that during this postseason, the lineup switches, it's been insane to watch. Like every single day it feels like it's something different. How is it that everyone in this clubhouse is so calibrated in the same way where it feels like you wake up, you don't know if you're going to play, if you're not going to play, when you're going to play, and it doesn't really matter. You guys just show up and do your thing every day.

DAVID HAMILTON: I think to start the year we had a different lineup pretty much every day. Sometimes we don't even get the lineup until we get to the field, and sometimes it's like 4:00. I think that everybody just comes to the field and they're ready to do their job if they're in the lineup or not. If they're not in the lineup, they're probably going to get in the game somehow, some way. Always just be ready and be prepared.

COOPER PRATT: Yeah, I found that out early. First off day, I was coming in off the bench. Never did that in the Minor Leagues. I think you just kind of show up expecting to play, and if you're not in there, you expect to come in, and if you don't, hey, good job staying out of it.

Yeah, I don't really think the lineup, like where you're hitting in the lineup or if you're in the lineup really matters as long as you're ready to play and ready to perform when your name is called.