Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy benched rookie Cooper Pratt on Tuesday night, citing a lack of hustle on two separate plays during the team's 3-2, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets. Pratt, who made his major league debut on June 16, acknowledged his mistakes and vowed to improve.
Murphy, a two-time defending National League Manager of the Year, expressed his disappointment with Pratt's performance in the third inning. Batting ninth, Pratt was asked to bunt after Garrett Mitchell and Joey Ortiz had opened the inning with singles. Pratt fouled off the first pitch and then pulled back his bat on the second, a fastball down the middle, which the manager deemed a missed opportunity to advance runners.
"We asked him to get a bunt down, pulled back on a strike, and that happens, maybe," Murphy said. "Trying to get a guy second and third for (Jackson) Chourio in a game where we weren’t swinging it too good."
Pratt ultimately hit a comebacker to Mets starter Zac Thornton, who induced a force out at third and then retired the next two batters to end the threat. Pratt later came to the plate in the fifth inning with one out and hit a flyball to shallow right field. He paused before running out of the batter's box, and the ball landed between three Mets fielders. Pratt then accelerated his pace rounding first base.
"No excuses. I should have been running hard, no matter if it is foul or fair," Pratt said. "I should have been (hustling) to get to second base."
Following that play, Murphy immediately removed Pratt from the game and replaced him with pinch-runner David Hamilton. Hamilton later committed the walk-off throwing error in the 10th inning.
Pratt, who turned 22 last week, was signed by the Brewers to an eight-year, $50.75 million contract after making his MLB debut. He is batting .259 with two home runs, 18 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 49 games for the Brewers, who currently hold the best record in the majors.
"I love the kid and I believe in the kid immensely, but he’s got to be a player that does those things," Murphy said of Pratt. "It’s just not tolerated. By anybody. It sends a message to everybody else, too — you’ve got to run."
Pratt, selected by Milwaukee in the sixth round of the 2023 amateur draft, expressed his understanding of the situation. "There’s a certain way to play here and I may be new, but it doesn’t matter," he said. "It’s the way we’re right through the organization from rookie ball to the big leagues. And I didn’t do that. And I will do that. No excuses."
Murphy added that he believes the incident will be a valuable learning experience for the young player. "He’s a great kid — it’s not laziness," Murphy stated. "You’ve got to have your head in the game. Because there’s games like today, it comes down to (Francisco) Lindor’s great catch or whatever it might be, an errant throw or whatever. You’ve got to be locked in if you’re going to play at this level. So hopefully, a good learning experience."