Leaving the lineup

["Lurker"77]

Originally Posted by chapmaja

. . . but when he leaves the dugout area has he left the game, or would he not have left the game until the next half inning when he was supposed to go to play defense in the field and could not.

Can't speak to USA rulebook, but merely from a recreational sports angle, shouldn't any ruling treat this guy in his car going to work in the same way that it would treat a player in the restroom outside the dugout, tending to a situation with a child outside the dugout, a player who runs to the parking lot to grab a water bottle, or (in a different vein) an incapacitated/injured player who is listed in the lineup and in the dugout. If it does not delay/interfere with their involvement in play, how would the umpire on the field differentiate among them until something actually happens on the field in the game? Is a (recreational) player's work schedule or injury status--even in the obvious cases-- something an umpire's wants to claim knowledge and jurisdiction over?