Dugout (baseball) - Origin

Origin

The term dugout refers to the area being slightly depressed below field level, as is common in professional baseball. The prevailing theory of the origin of locating the dugouts below field level is that it allowed spectators seated behind the dugouts to see the field, specifically the home plate area. Unlike most other sports, the primary action in baseball is centered around one area – home plate – and obstructing this area from fans' view, even if by players on the bench, would not be popular with fans.

Not all dugouts are located below the field level. At the major league level, the few dugouts that are located at the field level are in multi-purpose stadiums to simplify the conversion from baseball configuration to another sports field configuration. At such ballparks, the seating area is raised such that the dugouts do not obstruct the spectators' view. Dugouts are also at field level at most amateur ballparks, where locating them below field level would be cost prohibitive or otherwise not beneficial. In these cases, the term "dugout" still applies, as does "bench." In the early days of professional baseball, the seating areas were often constructed high enough that the bench was at field level.