Rose Will Start Year ‘Disabled’

Cincinnati Reds player-Manager Pete Rose said he plans to start the 1986 season on the 15-day disabled list.

Rose, who turns 45 on April 14, has had a stomach ailment and the flu this spring, reducing his playing time to 17 at-bats. He had only four hits.

Rose had X-rays earlier this spring when he experienced stomach pains for a week. Club officials declined to say what doctors diagnosed, and Rose brushed off questions about his medical condition.

Following his planned routine, Rose took batting practice the first few weeks of exhibition games and started playing in the last two weeks. But he came down with a severe case of the flu a week ago, knocking him out of the lineup.

Rose could go on the disabled list retroactive to last Wednesday, when he last played in a spring game. That would make him eligible to return April 18. The Reds open the season Monday at Cincinnati against Philadelphia.