Ex-Pitcher in Minors Tackles a New Sport : Fullerton’s Matt Fitts Finds Niche on Football Field, Still Eyes the Pros

There was a time when Matt Fitts thought his athletic future would depend on his ability to keep hitters off balance. Now, he’s doing the hitting, and his aim is simply to knock people down.

In 1982, Fitts was playing for the New York Mets’ rookie team in Kingsport, Tenn. He was part of a pitching rotation that included current major leaguers Dwight Gooden and Floyd Youmans.

In 1986, he’s part of a Cal State Fullerton offensive line that includes Mark Stephenson and Joe Florentine.

Starting at offensive tackle, a 6-foot 4-inch, 270-pound sophomore from Lompoc High School and the Kingsport Mets--Matt Fitts. Who’d have figured it?

Not Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy. Murphy’s search for large bodies to fill his offensive line hasn’t necessarily been confined to football fields and film rooms. Murphy and Larry Manfull--the Titans’ offensive line coach--aren’t opposed to talking basketball players off the courts and into the weight room, where they build themselves into blocking behemoths. But this is the first time either can remember getting a tackle from a pitcher’s mound.

From the center of attention to the middle of the trenches. Join us now as we retrace the athletic odyssey of Matt Fitts, a tackle who used to throw a pretty fair sinking fastball.

Fitts wanted to play pro baseball after he graduated from Lompoc in 1981. His father wanted him to go to college. A compromise was reached. Fitts’ father said he could give baseball a try if the team that signed him put a clause in his contract that would provide him money for a college education. Those dads. Always thinking.

The Mets, who had selected Fitts in the 20th round of the amateur draft, agreed. He signed and was told to report to the club’s rookie team in Kingsport, a member of the Appalachian League. He began boarding buses and chasing the baseball dream.

“It was depressing sometimes,” Fitts said of life in the minor leagues. “You sleep a lot because there’s nothing else to do. The league I was in wasn’t quite as bad as some of the other leagues. I’d go to spring training and talk to the guys on the other teams and they’d tell me about 16-hour bus rides. Our longest bus ride was five hours, and it was only an 80-mile trip. It was this winding road through the mountains of Kentucky.”

Much to his disappointment, Fitts was assigned to return to rookie ball in 1982. Back to Kingsport. Back to square one. But it was there that he crossed paths with Gooden. They became teammates and, later, friends.

“We talked a lot,” Fitts said. “I remember one night, we were playing the (Baltimore) Orioles’ organization. They were the No. 1 team . . . they were something like 18-1 at that point in the season. Dwight was pitching. He was warming up, and he said, ‘Matt, I’m cuttin’ loose tonight.’

“Nothing was under 93 miles an hour. He had 16 strikeouts. From then on, he took off.”

Meanwhile, Fitts wasn’t satisfied with the slow climb he was making through the Mets’ organization. He began developing shoulder problems that took some of the fast out of his fastball. In 1983, he was released.

Fitts wasn’t quite ready to walk away from baseball. He reported to the Kansas City Royals’ spring training camp in 1984, hoping to earn a position on one of the team’s minor league rosters. But the pain in his shoulder was worse. So were his pitches. The Royals released him. This time, he was ready.

“I figured my baseball career was over, and it was time to look for something else,” he said.

He didn’t have to look far. In 1983, Fitts had married his high school sweetheart, Ysabel. Her older brothers, Joe and Richard Aguilar, had both played nose guard for the Titans. Joe was the 1983 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Defensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American.

During his off-season from baseball, Fitts went with his wife to a few Fullerton games to see Joe play.

“In high school, Joe was the top dog,” Fitts said. “He was All-Everything. I had a lot of respect for the guy.”

Fitts said Joe Aguilar persuaded him to give football a chance. He helped him through long workouts in the weight room. He encouraged him. And when the time came, he took him to Fullerton to introduce him to Murphy and tell the coach of Fitts’ intention to make the Titans’ roster as a walk-on in the fall of 1984.

Fitts began at Fullerton as a tight end, the position he had played in high school. The coaching staff decided he still had a little to learn and redshirted him. When he came out for spring practice last year, the coaches informed him they wanted to convert him to an interior lineman.

Last season, Fitts was something of an offensive line utility man for the Titans. Injuries to front-line players forced him to be prepared to fill in at tackle, center and both guard spots at various points in the season. This year, he appears to have found a home.

“He’s gonna play this position come hell or high water,” Murphy said. “We owe it to the kid. He’s made himself the starting strong tackle.”

Fitts began firmly establishing himself during spring practice, from which he emerged as one of the most pleasant surprises of the session.

“I learned a lot, and I had an attitude of confidence,” he said. “The season before, as a tight end, I didn’t have a whole lot of confidence in myself. During last spring, a lot of people were telling me, ‘Hey, you have a future. You’ve got three more years to get bigger and stronger, and you’ll be unstoppable.’ I went out with that attitude.”

Fitts says that if it weren’t for his wife, he wouldn’t be in a position to pursue a football career.

“She’s supported me all through this,” he said. “She believes that if I work hard enough and everything goes all right, I’ll get a shot at the pros someday. She keeps telling me, ‘Three more years and then you go to work.’

Last year, Fitts worked four nights a week as a bouncer at an Anaheim nightclub. The couple had an infant son, Matt Jr., and with Dad in school, money was tight. The Mets were still paying his educational costs, but there were other bills. Ysabel began running a day-care business out of the Fitts’ apartment in Placentia.

Said Manfull, Murphy’s longtime assistant: “He does have a future beyond this level. She (Ysabel) and Matt are working together to see that he gets a chance. For a young couple, I think that’s very rare and exciting.”

Matt Jr. turned 11 months old Thursday. Dad remembers the day of the big event well. The Titans played Nevada Reno last Sept. 14 at Santa Ana Stadium. The coaching staff had told Fitts that, because of injuries, he might see some playing time at center. Ysabel, in Lompoc with her parents, was due to deliver the couple’s first child. Mom- and Dad-to-be discussed it, and decided that Matt should suit up and play.

Fitts didn’t play in the 30-3 loss to Reno. When he returned to the locker room, he had a message that his wife had gone into labor. Still in uniform, he hopped in his car and headed for Lompoc.

“It’s a 3 1/2-hour drive, and I got there in two,” he said. “I missed the birth of my son by about an hour.”

This Sept. 13, the day before his first birthday, Matt Jr. can watch his old man line up against Idaho State at Santa Ana Stadium.

Dad may not have much of a fastball anymore, but they say he can throw a mean block.

Titan Notes Jim Baioa, who started at nose guard for the Titans the past two seasons, was forced to give up football after undergoing surgery to repair deterioration of the joint in his right shoulder. Baioa was an honorable mention All-PCAA selection last season. His departure moves Quinton Knight, a transfer from Sam Houston State who redshirted last season, to the top of the depth chart at nose guard. . . . Changes-of-Scenery Dept.: Recent schedule changes have forced the Titans to alter both their travel plans and practice schedule. Fullerton visits Las Vegas for a PCAA game on Saturday, Sept. 27, then must prepare for a game at Tulsa on Thursday, Oct. 2. The Fresno State game on Thursday, Oct. 30, follows a nonconference game at Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 25. Both Thursday games were changes made so that the Titans could be seen on ESPN. Said Coach Gene Murphy: “We’re not so affluent that we can pass up the money they gave us. And, it’s great exposure.”. . . Murphy said he has been pleased with the play of all of his quarterbacks in practice, especially Ronnie Barber, a transfer from El Camino College. “If we had to play tomorrow, (Tony) Dill would start and Barber would be No. 2,” Murphy said. . . . The Titans’ first intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason will be at 4 p.m. today.