Upbeat Fitch Says He Won’t Be Retiring

Former Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda retired after having an angioplasty following a heart attack, but Clipper Coach Bill Fitch vowed that he won’t quit after undergoing an emergency triple bypass following a heart attack last week.

“All those guys that are disappointed that they found my heart, I’ll make them pay for that,” Fitch said Monday by phone from his bed in the cardiac care unit of the Columbia Conroe (Texas) Regional Medical Center. “I figure what I’ve been through will make me a better coach.”

Asked if he plans to return for his third season with the Clippers, Fitch said, “Oh yes, why not? There are all kinds of guys doing jobs with new hearts.”

Fitch, 62, said he almost died after suffering a heart attack Thursday night at his home in suburban Houston.

“I had what they call a widow’s heart attack,” Fitch said. “It could have killed me, I was very lucky.”

Rushed to the hospital, he underwent surgery at 3 a.m. Friday. Doctors said that one of the vessels leading to Fitch’s heart was completely blocked, another was 95% blocked and another had 75% blockage.

“They cut me in two and put me back together with bailing wire,” Fitch said in a hoarse voice. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.

“I feel as well as you could feel after undergoing heart surgery, but it will take me a while to build my strength back up.”

Fitch, who has coached more games than any other NBA coach, plans to return by the start of training camp Oct. 4.

“I’ll be fully fit by then,” he said. “But I’m going to have to change my way of living and get on that stair machine.”

Fitch has begun a limited physical therapy program and doctors estimate that he will be able to resume his duties in five to six weeks.

Although Fitch has no previous history of heart disease, there were warning signs.

“I had an angina attack during training camp a year ago,” Fitch said. “And when I had my last physical the doctor told me he didn’t like the last two minutes of my stress test.”

But Fitch, a workaholic who has coached in the NBA for 23 seasons, continued to drive himself to exhaustion. One of the first coaches to videotape games, he deprived himself of sleep by watching tapes late into the night after games and practices.

When the Clippers ended their summer league season last month, Fitch finally decided to take a break, returning to his offseason home on a lake outside Houston.

“I caught the redeye Tuesday and I got in about 6 a.m.” Fitch said. “I carried my own bags and I didn’t feel too good. I was supposed to play golf that day, but I called it off. I felt great the next day, but then I started to have chest pains that night.

“Luckily, I’ve got a super cardiologist here and he told me to come in. When he told me that they couldn’t do an angioplasty and that I had to have a bypass, I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”

Although nurses have limited Fitch’s phone conversations, he has remained abreast of team affairs through brief conversations with Clipper executives. He called the Clipper offices within hours after coming out of surgery.