Mike Maroth received the gift of a better ballclub in 2004, and his record improved from 21 losses in 2003 to the brink of .500 last season. He's spending the winter at home in Orlando, where his young son Nolan just started to walk and his family has always gathered around the holidays. He took some time out to talk with MLB.com about the season. MLB.com: What does Christmas mean to you? Mike Maroth: The birth of Christ. That's pretty simple for me. Ever since I became a believer, that's really been the true meaning of Christmas. MLB.com: What's the best Christmas gift you ever received? Maroth: I can tell you it wouldn't be anything material. I can't think of anything in particular, but anytime you get to spend time with family, like when you have all the family together, even family from out of town, that's a gift. But I can't think of anything specific, like a material item. Of course, every Christmas as a kid, you really want something and Santa usually brought it to you. I remember when I wanted a bicycle and I got it, and I can remember being a little bit older and I wanted a certain kind of bike. MLB.com: Is there a big holiday tradition in your family? Maroth: My mom's side of the family, on Christmas Day in the afternoon they get together. Most of my mom's family lives in the central Florida area, so they would all get together. And my mom's family is pretty big, so there was a big family crowd, 20 people roughly, and we get together and have pork roast and dumplings. That was the Christmas dinner meal, and that's something that's been in the family for a while. It's not dumplings you would think of like at Cracker Barrel. They're Polish dumplings. You take mashed potatoes and bread, you soak it in water and you make balls out of it. It sounds pretty gross, but it's good. It's something that takes some time to make, a couple days. But you boil the balls of bread and potato, or recently we started frying. The key is you have to add salt and you have to add gravy. Makes it good. MLB.com: What's your favorite holiday movie? Maroth: "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." I can remember seeing it in a theater. It's just funny. It's always good to have for the holidays. MLB.com: How old were you when you realized there actually wasn't a Santa Claus? Maroth: Pretty early, I think. I started realizing it when I got a little bit older and the presents had an "M" or a "J" on it (for whose present it was). And when I got older, I learned to recognize my mom's handwriting, so I figured it out. I always kept it to myself because I knew I didn't want to spoil it for anyone else. My wife is telling me right now there's still a Santa. Uh oh. I'm in trouble, because little kids are going to be reading. So there really is a Santa. MLB.com: Any big gifts for Nolan this year? Maroth: As far as toys, not really. He's got so many toys, it's taking up a lot of room. So we're trying to be very specific on what Santa should bring. As he gets older, I'm sure the grandparents will spoil him. So we'll make the list a little smaller. --

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