Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt makes World Series history with record that stood for 48 years

The Milwaukee Brewers waited 57 seasons to win their first World Series championship. Cooper Pratt needed just a few months in the major leagues to become one of the biggest reasons it finally happened.

The 22-year-old rookie shortstop delivered another outstanding performance Wednesday night as Milwaukee defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5, clinching the first championship in franchise history.

Pratt finished with two hits and two RBIs, but his most remarkable accomplishment was a record that had stood since 1978. He became the first rookie in World Series history to record hits in six consecutive at-bats.

And the story of how he accomplished it was almost as extraordinary as the record itself.

Pratt nearly became Milwaukee's championship hero Tuesday night. With the Brewers leading the series 3-0, Pratt hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 12th inning of Game 4. Milwaukee was three outs away from its first championship.

“This is one of the greatest moments of my life! It doesn’t even seem real. It only took 4 months!” A stunned Cooper Pratt joins Tom Verducci after becoming a World Series champion. @MLBONFOX | @Brewers https://t.co/7qVvNolHlJ

Instead, Tampa Bay rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning and won 4-3. Pratt finished that game with four hits, including the dramatic home run.

The following night, he continued exactly where he left off. Pratt singled home Brice Turang in the second inning to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. The hit was his fifth consecutive, matching the previous rookie World Series record held by Brian Doyle of the 1978 New York Yankees.

Then came the record-breaker.

In the fifth inning, Pratt singled against Tampa Bay reliever Kevin Kelly, recording his sixth consecutive hit across the two games.

According to MLB, the last player of any experience level to accomplish that feat in a World Series was Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz in 2013. Pratt later added a sacrifice fly, helping Milwaukee build a 4-0 advantage.

Pratt made his major league debut June 16. He played 74 regular-season games, batting .281 with three home runs, 34 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

Those were encouraging numbers for a young player, but nothing that necessarily suggested a historic World Series performance was coming.

Pratt finished the Fall Classic batting 8-for-19 with a home run and seven RBIs. His six consecutive hits weren't simply empty statistics, either. They came during some of the biggest moments of Milwaukee's championship run.

He nearly won Game 4 with a 12th-inning home run, then helped establish the lead in the deciding game.

MORE: William Contreras’ journey from Venezuela to World Series MVP

William Contreras ultimately received World Series MVP honors, but Pratt's contribution will be remembered as one of the defining performances of Milwaukee's title run.

The Brewers finished the regular season with an MLB-best 103 victories and went 11-2 during the postseason. Their final victory came behind 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Jacob Misiorowski, with Pratt supplying two of the team's four runs.

For a franchise that hadn't reached the World Series since 1982, the championship ended decades of frustration. For Pratt, it completed an extraordinary introduction to the major leagues. He entered June without an MLB appearance.

By the end of October, he owned a World Series record and a championship ring. That's quite a rookie season.