Dugout (baseball)

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Cincinnati Reds' dugout, 1991
Cincinnati Reds' dugout, 1991

In baseball, the dugout is where a team's bench is located. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the away team. With the exception of relief pitchers in the bullpen, active players who are not on the field watch the play from the dugout.

The term dugout refers to the area being slightly depressed below field level, as is common in professional baseball. On community diamonds, where there is no change in ground level, the dugout may just be referred to as the bench.

There is no right or wrong answer as to whether the home dugout should be on the first-base side or the third-base side. The Major League Baseball Rulebook is silent on the subject.

There are many theories why one dugout is chosen over the other. One theory is that in the early days of baseball the Manager also coached third base (and was sometimes a player in the field as well) and the third base dugout meant less walking. Another is that during day games the sun shines directly into the first base dugout blinding the players sitting there. Still another holds that since more close plays occur at first base than third, the first base dugout is preferred. However, the most likely theory is simply that the home team chooses the better clubhouse and dugout on that side of the field.

In the National League, far more are on the first-base side (10 to 6). In the American League, though, it's split evenly, with seven on each side of the field. Even the two oldest parks still in use differ on this point: the Cubs sit on the third-base side at Wrigley while the Red Sox inhabit the first-base dugout at Fenway. However, the three parks that have opened most recently (Cincinnati, San Diego and Philadelphia) all have the home dugouts on the first-base side. The new Washington Nationals stadium may break that trend, as the team's dugout at RFK is on the third-base side (it is not yet known which dugout the Nats will occupy).

[edit] Teams and ballparks with home dugouts on the first base side

[edit] Teams and ballparks with home dugouts on the third base side

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