INDIANAPOLIS — Local high school baseball fans will not see the odd hand gestures and the glance from the catcher towards the dugout next season. Instead, fans will instead witness the head coach speaking into a microphone and undoubtedly, a catcher claiming the earpiece is not working correctly.

The National Federation of State High School Associations announced on Thursday, July 6 that beginning in 2024, teams will be allowed to use one-way communication devices between the catcher and the dugout to purposes of calling pitches. The change was approved by the NFHS Board of Directors after a recommendation by the Baseball Rules Committee.

The new rules will still prohibit coaches from communicating with any other player besides the catcher and coaches still will not be able to electronically communicate with batters.

“This change is consistent with the growth of the game and is indicative of a measured and responsible approach to enable technology into our level of competition,” said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS Director of Sports and Educational Services and liaison to the Baseball Rules Committee. “The committee has made these changes to maintain the balance between offense and defense; increase the pace of play; and will responsibly manage technology so there is no advantaged gained by schools that have more available resources than some of their contemporaries. Creating a level playing field is paramount to education-based athletics.”

The national organization also clarified umpires will be unable to call a forfeit to a game due to fan behavior. Umpires will only have jurisdiction regarding infractions by players, coaches or team/bench personnel. Spectators will be left to game administrators.

“This change is a complementary rule to support schools’ game management role in addressing unacceptable behavior and will allow the umpire to focus on the action and players on the field,” Hopkins said.