In a 16U game today, the batter hit a deep flyball that hit top of the fence and then bounded back into fair territory.

Parents for the batting team wanted it ruled a home run, because "it hit the top of the fence!"

I think in MLB there is a yellow stripe painted around the top that designates a homerun -- is that true?

In the game referred to above, if you're wondering how it could hit the top of the fence and bound back into the playing field ... it was a chain-link fence with a horizontal cylindrical metal "top".

Ump ruled that the batter gets whatever he can get -- no automatic home run.

Is the "top of the fence" issue really a non-issue?

Really a non issue, it either clears the fence for an HR or it doesn't and stays in play (FOUL POLES EXCLUDED, they are above the fence).

There are parks that do have lines deliniating an HR above that line, but are site specific due to a break in the fence/seating areas or some other odd feature.

The real concern: a 16 U kid hits the top a tha fence, my suggestion: DON'T thrown him that one again.

I actually know the answer to this one since it happened to us just two weeks ago in a Championship game. It is a playable ball and NOT a home run if it hits the top of the faence and comes back in to play. Sounds like your umpire did a better job of ruling on it than ours did.

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Parents for the batting team wanted it ruled a home run, because "it hit the top of the fence!"

Parents - gotta love 'em. Maybe somebody could write a 'Baseball Rules 101' mini-course and sell it to us coaches and we'd make it mandatory reading for parents. Last night I was coaching 3rd. Runner slid into 3rd on a close play (NOT a force), 3B had his foot on the bag but clearly never tagged the runner. Three or four parents behind me were screaming at the ump that 3B's foot beat the runner to the bag.