Best Seats at a Baseball Game: Where to Sit

By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated October 1, 2026How we research

The short answer: the infield, a level up, out of the sun

The best seats at a baseball game are in the infield sections between the two dugouts, where you look straight in at the pitcher, the batter and the whole diamond. For the best value, go one level up: an infield seat on the second deck or the front of the upper deck shows the entire field, including outfield positioning and baserunners' leads, usually for less than the field level.

Two more choices matter almost as much as the section:

The sun side. At a day game, the side of the field that falls into shade first can decide whether the afternoon is pleasant. It varies by ballpark.
The angle. Seats far down the lines often point toward the outfield, not home plate, so you spend three hours turned sideways.

Seating guides for individual parks point to the same kind of value pick: the infield Main Level at Yankee Stadium, the infield Loge at Dodger Stadium, the 300-level upper box behind home plate at Wrigley Field and the Pavilion Box seats at Fenway Park.

How a ballpark seating chart is laid out

Most ballparks wrap seats from one foul pole, around home plate, to the other foul pole, then fill the outfield with bleachers or porches. The levels stack upward, and the first digit of a section number usually tells you the tier. At Wrigley Field, for example, the Cubs moved to a standard system in 2019 that reads from the 100 level (field box) up through the 200 (terrace), 300 (upper box) and 400 (upper reserved) levels to the 500-level bleachers.

A few terms appear on almost every chart:

Infield: sections between first and third base, which carry the highest demand.
Baseline: sections running from the bases toward the foul poles. Closer to the bases is better.
Dugouts: the team benches along each base line. The home dugout is not always on the same side; at Yankee Stadium the Yankees use the first-base side, below roughly sections 14 to 17.
Bleachers: outfield seats, often benches, sometimes general admission (a ticket that buys entry, not a specific seat). Wrigley's bleachers are general admission during the regular season.

Older parks name their sections rather than number them by level. Fenway Park's chart runs from Dugout, Field and Loge Box near the field to the Grandstand, Pavilion and Bleachers, so learn the names before comparing listings.

Sun and shade: no rule fits every park

Day games are a regular part of the baseball calendar, and many ballparks are open-air. Sun is the most underrated factor in choosing a seat, and the shade side differs from park to park because each one faces a different direction:

Dodger Stadium: home plate faces north-northeast, so the third-base side falls into shade first. The first-base side and right field stay sunny longest.
Wrigley Field: the third-base side becomes the shade side as the afternoon goes on; the first-base side and right-field corner take the most direct sun.
Yankee Stadium: seats on the first-base side of home plate fall into shade earliest, and right field faces west, so it takes late sun at evening games too.

Covered rows are the other escape. The back rows of the Main Level at Yankee Stadium (rows 16 and up in the main sections), the last six or seven rows of each Loge section at Dodger Stadium and most of the Grandstand at Fenway Park sit under the deck above. The bleachers and outfield porches are usually the most exposed seats in any park.

Retractable roofs change the math. At loanDepot park in Miami, the roof is closed for many summer games, so sightlines and price matter more than sun. For a night game anywhere, sun is a minor issue after the first few innings.

Seats that look good on a map and disappoint

A seating chart shows distance. It does not show angle, poles or overhangs, and those are what make a cheap seat a bad one.

Deep corner seats that face the outfield. At Fenway Park, the Right Field Box seats point toward center field, worst near Pesky's Pole. Field-level seats far down the lines at Dodger Stadium and loanDepot park have the same problem. They look like a bargain on a map; for a long game they are a poor choice.
Support poles. Older parks hold up their upper decks with steel columns. At Fenway, poles often fall near the first or last seat of a row and in rows 2 to 4 of many Grandstand sections. At Wrigley, the first pole in many 200-level sections falls around row 6. If a listing says obstructed view, believe it.
The back rows under an overhang. Shade comes at a price: the deck above can cut off high fly balls and the outfield video boards, as it does in the back rows of Wrigley's terrace.
Low outfield rows. In places, the first rows sit below the top of the outfield wall, which hides balls hit to the warning track.
Directly behind home plate, very low. The first rows are premium-priced and look through protective netting. A few rows back gives nearly the same view for less.

The guide to obstructed and limited-view seats explains how these are labeled on listings.

Outfield, bleachers and the seats with character

The infield is the best place to watch baseball. It is not always the best place to enjoy a ballgame. Outfield seats trade the view of the strike zone for atmosphere, home-run balls and lower prices.

Short porches catch the most home runs. Yankee Stadium's right field is only 314 feet from home plate, and loanDepot park's Home Run Porch benefits from a short right-field line.
Fan sections bring the noise. Section 203 in the Yankee Stadium bleachers is home to the Bleacher Creatures and their first-inning roll call. Visiting fans should expect ribbing.
Landmark seats are experiences first. The Green Monster seats on top of Fenway's left-field wall give a view across the whole park, though plays at the wall directly below are hard to see.

The trade-offs are distance and exposure. The upper rows of Fenway's bleachers are among the farthest seats from home plate in the majors, and bleachers almost everywhere have no shade. For families, some parks set aside alcohol-free sections, such as 407A and 433 in Yankee Stadium's Grandstand.

Which games draw the most demand

A Major League team plays about 81 home dates a season, from late March or early April through September, with the postseason in October. That volume is good news for buyers. MLB reported that the 2025 season drew 71,409,421 fans, topping 70 million for a third straight season, according to the league's attendance release, yet most regular-season games still leave a wide choice of seats.

Across ballpark guides, demand peaks for the same kinds of dates:

Opening Day and the postseason.
Summer weekends, fireworks nights and giveaway or promotional nights.
Rivalry series and division opponents with large traveling fan bases.

Midweek games in April, May and September against lower-profile opponents usually offer the widest selection. Timing helps too. A study of the secondary market for regular-season MLB tickets by economist Andrew Sweeting found that sellers cut prices by 40 percent or more as game day approached. The study was published in 2012 and high-demand games behave differently, so treat it as a historical pattern rather than a promise. The guide to when ticket prices drop covers timing in more detail. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee.

A quick checklist before you buy

Pick the infield first, then decide on height: field level for closeness, one deck up for value and the full picture.
Look up the shade side for that specific park and your start time.
Check the row for poles, overhangs and netting, and use a seat-view tool; the view-from-your-seat guide explains how.
Avoid the deep corners unless you want a lower price and do not mind turning your head.
Read the bag rule. MLB parks set their own limits, and many are larger than the NFL clear-bag size; see the stadium bag policy guide.

For the method that works at any venue, start with the guide to choosing seats.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best seats at a baseball game?

Infield seats between the dugouts. For value, an infield seat one level up shows the whole field for less than the field level.

Which side of a baseball stadium is in the shade?

It depends on the park. At Dodger Stadium and Wrigley Field the third-base side shades first, while at Yankee Stadium the first-base side does, so check the specific ballpark.

Are outfield seats good at a baseball game?

They are good for atmosphere, home-run balls and lower prices, but they are far from the strike zone and usually exposed to the sun.

Should I sit behind home plate?

Behind home plate gives the best view of pitches, but the first rows look through protective netting and carry premium prices. A few rows back offers nearly the same view.

What should I avoid when buying baseball seats?

Deep corner seats that face the outfield, seats behind support poles at older parks, and the back rows under an overhang if you want to see fly balls.

The Best Seats at a Baseball Game