Rose Says He Expects to Be Hitting Away in ’86

Player-manager Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds said he expects to play again next season.

Rose, 44, dismissed any suggestion that he might return to the Reds as only a manager next season. “I haven’t even thought about not playing next year,” he said.

Rose, five hits away from breaking Ty Cobb’s career record of 4,191, is paid $225,000 a year in his dual role with the Reds, contrasted with the average salary of $330,000 for a big-league player.

Rose said he plans to play in at least two games of a three-game series in Chicago this weekend. He probably will play today against right-handed pitcher Derek Botelho and again Saturday against Dennis Eckersley, another right-hander. He is expected to sit out Sunday’s game against left-hander Steve Trout.

At his current pace, Rose figures to break the record next Wednesday in Cincinnati against the San Diego Padres.

“Pete and I will have no problem. Don’t worry about that,” the Reds’ owner, Marge Schott, said about a contract for next season. “I think he’s doing all right now, but he’ll be taken care of.”