The following was added to POE #25 in the 2004 book (and the list of lettered items was reduced from 7 to 5). Does anybody know how this adds anything to what we already knew? How can the defensive player be on the other side of the fence?

"In the Slow Pitch game, any fair fly ball touched by a defensive player on either side of the fence that clears or has cleared the fence in fair territory, should be declared a four-base award and shall not be included in the total of over-the-fence home runs."

Throw the cow over the fence some hay. What is being thrown? Where is the cow?

I suspect it is the ball on either side of the fence, not the player.

There was probably an argument that a ball which cleared the fence prior to being touched by a fielder should count against a team's HR total because it passed the vertical plane of the front of the fence.

This is just clarifying that if a fair batted ball is touched by a fielder prior to leaving the park in fair territory, it is a four-base award regardless of the position of the fielder or ball at the time of contact with the defender or his/her glove.

In last year's book, it only noted a ball touched by the fielder prior to going over the fence in fair territory.

I do believe you are right Mike, this situation came up this year in the Men's Seniors National (don't remember which age group) that I worked in Auburndale.
We had the situation described above but ruled it a 4 base award. The defensive team protested and Henry Pollard as UIC supported and affirmed the ruling made on the field by me and my partner.

These are probably the same folks who argued on one of the boards last year that a fair batted ball that hits the top of the fence and comes back into play should be ruled a HR.