Aces Batter Ramos & Rainiers' F6 Walton Fight During Home Run Trot - Does the HR Still Count?

We were asked about a batter-runner fighting a fielder during a home run trot and whether or not the HR still counts despite the runner failing to touch all of their awarded bases. Here's the rule. Article: https://www.closecallsports.com/2021/09/ask-uefl-batter-runner-fights-fielder.html Today's example is a play during this weekend's Reno Aces vs Tacoma Rainier's minor league game. Aces batter Henry Ramos had just hit an out-of-the-park home run and flipped his bat, leading to a prolonged series of shouting, gestures, and taunting as Ramos rounded the bases. As Ramos rounded (and touched) second base, Rainiers shortstop Donovan Walton engaged Ramos. Although Ramos continued jogging toward third base, Walton ran toward and followed Ramos as a bench-clearing brawl ensued with punches thrown. After the dust settled, Ramos had not touched third base or home plate. What's the call? In 2013, Braves catcher Brian McCann confronted Brewers batter-runner Carlos Gomez during a home run trot. The fight that followed resulted in Gomez's ejection, amongst others. Even though Gomez was ejected and failed to physically touch home plate, umpire Paul Nauert and crew awarded Gomez with a base touch of home plate, ruling that McCann had obstructed Gomez, who was entitled to run and touch all four bases without liability to be put out due to the out-of-the-park home run. In other words, the runner failed to touch the base because of an illegal act by the defense during a dead ball in which the runner was entitled to advance to and touch all bases. Had the defense not confronted the offensive player entitled to touch the bases, the runner likely would have completed such base-running responsibilities. Thus, we have obstruction and the penalty is to award the runner with appropriate base touches. Had the runner CLEARLY indicated they did not wish to run the bases—for instance charging the mound or making a beeline toward a player immediately upon hitting a fair ball out of the playing field in flight—one could prepare for a potential defensive appeal or, alternatively, possibly rule abandonment. This was not the case here as Ramos was in the process of rounding the bases (even if Ramos was taunting/yelling at the opposing team while doing so) when the melee occurred.