Best Place To Sit At A Baseball Game: 5 Areas Reviewed

If you have ever been to a baseball stadium or looked at one from the inside, you know that the seats go all around the field with different segments and levels on it. This forces you to wonder about which seating areas are the best?

Generally, the best seats at a baseball game are along the third and first baseline, followed by behind the home plate. However, the best seats for you depend on whether you want to be close to the game, see the players, and have a chance of catching the ball or seeing the big picture & socialization.

Of course, there are the best seats in a baseball stadium for the vast majority, but not for everybody. Some people might not like the crowd or the close look at the game but would rather want an open, rarely seated area with a sight for the whole game. As we know, people are different.

To understand the benefits of each seating area, stick with me, and I’ll explain everything to you.

Different Baseball Seating Areas

There are many different baseball seating areas to choose from that drastically vary in experience and prices.

1. Along third & first baseline

According to the public opinion, myself included, the best seats for views are alongside third and first baselines. However, along the third baseline takes the cake from the two. This is because you can see the home runs along the third baseline instead of batters moving onto the first base, even when that’s a great sight too.

These are the best seating areas because you can see the game from the best position, and the infield action is right ahead of you from the optimal angle. This calls for action and great thrills during the game.

2. Scout seats behind the home plate

The most expensive and desired place to sit is behind the home plate. From here, you can see the players close, which can be exhilarating!

The scout seats aren’t like normal seats as they are usually equipped with extra comforts. These seats won’t let you down, from cushioned benches to extra legroom. They also draw quite a bit of attention as they are the most luxurious seats in the stadium.

However, the price is according to the usual price, often going over $300, and that’s the far low end of pricing, as the seats can be well over $1000 or a couple. This varies between the games and stadiums.

In addition, you will need to look at the game through the safety net between the field and the audience for protection from balls. However, I’ve heard that it isn’t an issue as the game takes your attention so well.

Anyways, if you want the ultimate fan experience, respect from the other fans, and a close look at the players, scout seats are the way to go.

3. Behind the dugouts

If you’re interested in the game strategies, favorite baseball players, and the opportunity to catch a ball thrown at the audience, you should sit behind the dugouts.

You can see the players going on and off the field between innings, the manager forming strategies, and the players living directly in front of you from these seats.

Depending on the home or visitor team, many dugout locations are behind the home plate and the first or third base. As I previously mentioned, the seats along the baselines are great. These seats are great for viewing purposes as well. Therefore, I would say these are the best seats considering their considerably lower price than the scout seats.

Although, seats behind the dugouts aren’t cheap and often too expensive for the average Joe without major savings. However, hey can be worth it if you are a true baseball fan and want to see your idols from close.

Can you really put a price on that?

4. Outfield seats

Moving further from the infield, you can choose outfield seats as well. Outfield seats are affordable, still great for the views of the game.

Outfield seats aren’t naturally close to the infield where most of the action happens, but when the batter hits a longball, it gets very exciting for the outfield fans.

In fact, many times, when a batter hits a long ball, the ball will fly on the outfield seats, where you will see many fans having their gloves in hopes of catching the ball. If you have such hopes, you need to be in the front rows of the outfield seats.

Even when the outfield seats are far from most of the happenings, they are far from boring! Many people say that the outfield seats are where they enjoy being the most because they are great for socializing and relaxing.

Moving on to cons, the vibes can sometimes be too relaxed because fans will yell to the player’s something inappropriate far more often than in the infield seats. Thus, if you have children coming with you, this is something to keep in mind.

Another major con that is the biggest, in my opinion, is that the seats can be replaced with a bench in some stadiums. This removes the seat that is all yours and replaces it with a bench that can get crowded, depending on your baseball fan neighbors at the game.

Oh, and you know the huge video screen on every stadium? Well, it’s above the outfield seats, so you need to watch the game without a screen if you want to save your neck from aches from all the turning around.

Overall, outfield seats are a great choice, especially on a budget.

5. Upper level

If you don’t care to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to see players at a close, enjoy incredible views and the atmosphere of the baseball game, these seats can be for you.

Apart from being the cheapest seats in the stadium, the upper level is the last area booked full, meaning that you will often have some space for yourself. In addition, you will see everything!

By everything, I mean the full baseball field, the massive crowds of people, the full video board, and the potential beautiful scenery surrounding the home city. This is something that I would enjoy when on a date or feeling, not crowded…

The cons, however, are still there. The most notable con is that you won’t have the same close game feel when on the infield seats or even the outfield sometimes. The upper-level seats are furthest from the field, which won’t give you the maximum in-close baseball vibes.

In addition, the food supply isn’t as great; there can be potential railings blocking your view and a low to no chance of catching a ball.

The upper-level seats are the dream for budget games with full views and minimum crowd around you.

6. Aisle seats

Aisle seats are found in many of the seating areas listed above. I listed them separately as there are certain pros and cons to them.

Starting with the advantages, aisle seats give you fast travel to the bathrooms or snack bar between the innings. I like aisle seats as I don’t have to move across many people before getting some air and personal space. The crowds scare me sometimes, hah.

Now, aisles aren’t only a walk in the park, as fans are often allowed to move when the ball is at play. Thus, sitting at the aisle close to the infield, you will have distractions when people are moving up and down the stairs blocking your view.

That’s why you should choose seats on the outfield section if you prefer aisle seats and want the minimum distractions.

Can You Change Seats At A Baseball Game?

Changing seats at a baseball game, also called seat hopping, has always fascinated fans from the beginning of baseball games. When you spot empty seats that would be better than yours, it’s only natural to want to hop on there and watch the game with a better view.

However, is this changing seats at a baseball game allowed?

Generally, you can change seats at a baseball game with no issues. The only issue would be to refuse moving if the person who has purchased that particular seat would come. If you are polite and don’t change seats at the beginning of the first inning, it’s legal and acceptable.

Seat hopping is very common because who wouldn’t want better seats if nobody is sitting there. However, if someone says that you are sitting on their seat, you should move, or it would be a big problem to the person whose seat it is and the usher.

Speaking of ushers, they don’t care if you change seats 99% of the time. Again, this assumes that you don’t change seats immediately after the game has started because people can come late to the baseball game. You should keep in mind that there are ushers that live to give you a hard time, and these are often the older ushers looking all grumpy. If I were you, I would avoid them.

Revisiting the seat hoppers subject, too passionate fans will refuse to move even if you show them your ticket. This is unacceptable behavior, and the person refusing would seriously be super drunk or something to do something like that.

This, of course, would result in anger with the seat capacitor and usher, and he would get physically removed by either one if not listen to reason. You can’t expect a Bugatti if you’re paying from a Toyota because, naturally, premium seats are more expensive than cheap ones.

Can You Sit Anywhere During Batting Practice?

As you can see, there are many different seating areas you can watch the game from, with each area offering something unique for the fans. If you like to arrive early on the game day and haven’t tried other seating areas before, or would like to look at the batting practice from different angles, can you sit anywhere during?

As a general rule, you can sit anywhere during batting practice until 45 minutes before the game starts. Baseball teams will often start the batting practice approximately 2.5 hours before the game, so you have plenty of time to watch it from desired seats, assuming that the stadium gates open early.

Most baseball team websites won’t tell the schedule of their batting practice, but the Yankee stadium, for example, notes that fans can watch the batting practice from desired seats.

As discussed above, you can always go and try because there’s no harm if you act politely in case someone instructs you to move from the seat.

In addition, you can find the usual MLB Ballpark gate opening times in alphabetical order from below so you can prepare to maximize your batting practice watch time by arriving immediately when the gates open.

MLB Stadium	Average Gate Opening Time
Angel Stadium	1.5h – 2h
AT&T Park	2h
Camden Yards	1.5h – 2h
Chase Field	2h
Citi Field	1.5h – 2h
Citizens Bank Park	2h
Comerica Park	1.5h
Coors Field	2h
Dodgers Stadium	2h
Fenway Park	1.5h
Globe Life Field	1.5h – 2.5h
Great American Ball Park	1.5hh
Guaranteed Rate Field	1.5h
Kauffman Stadium	1.5h
Marlins Park	1.5h
Miller Park	1.5h
Minute Maid Park	1.5h – 2h
Nationals Park	2.5h
Oakland Coliseum	1.5h – 2h
Petco Park	2.5h
PNC Park	2h – 2.5h
Progressive Field	1h – 2h
Rogers Centre	1.5h – 2h
Safeco Field	2h – 2.5h
Sun Trust Park	2h
Target Field	1.5 – 2h
Tropicana Field	1.5h
Wrigley Field	2h
Yankee Stadium	1.5 – 2h

As you can see, most stadiums open at least 1.5h before the game, meaning that you can watch 45minutes of batting practice from the desired non-seated seats. Assuming that you can reach that seat within the minute of the gates opening which is well… Unlikely.

Some stadiums open even 2.5h before the game, so there is 1h 45min of batting practice time given that the batting practice is started when you arrive.