thmetcalf

I've been the scorer and statistician for my son's high school team, and as this is his senior year, I'm writing up a guide for scorers for future years. For context, our school does not have its own field, nor do most of our opponents, so our games are on permitted public fields. There's no press box or public address system or working scoreboard. Spectators often need to bring their own chairs. Our particular school about a decade old and this is only the fourth year of varsity baseball; there is not much institutional knowledge or infrastructure to support the baseball team. Hence parents act as scorers and statisticians Here is what I'm writing about interacting with the umpire, and I'd appreciate feedback on points you might disagree with, or additional things you wished the official scorers knew.

In our opening HS game, NFHS rules with no association specific language about bench conduct, one of our players hit an over-the-fence homerun and the players in the dugout went out to congratulate him, staying in foul territory near home plate. (I'm the team statistician but also the one who has read the rules most carefully.) The plate umpire told us that, because of a rules change two or three years ago, they should all be ejected for coming out of the dugout. I think that Casebook 3.3.1 Situation CCC makes it clear that such celebration is permitted, provided the team doesn't interfere with the umpire. I suspect the umpire was thinking of the 2022 point of emphasis about over-the-top celebrations with props and choreographed moves and such. But my question is about Rule 3.3.1.i: "A ... player ... shall not be outside the designated dugout (bench) or bullpen area if not a batter, runner, on-deck batter, in the coach's box or one of the nine players on defense." This doesn't appear to be restricted to a live ball situation and appears broad enough that an umpire could decide that home-run celebrations were not permitted. But it also seems broad enough to prohibit things like: players chasing down an errant foul ball, players going to the bathroom, or even having a 10th player warm up the left fielder between innings when the team is in the 3rd base dugout. 3.3.1.i seems almost redundant with 3.3.1.a except (i) would be about remaining out of the dugout and (a) is about leaving the dugout. But is there some live-ball provision I'm missing? Can this be used to prohibit home-run celebrations?