Christmas Q&A With Justin De Fratus

If you keep up with things here at PhoulBallz.com, you should be familiar with pitching prospect Justin De Fratus. After going 5-6 with a 3.19 ERA in 36 games and making the SAL all star team with the Lakewood BlueClaws this season, the right hander, who will be 22 years old for the entire 2010 season, was declared to have the best control of all pitching prospects in the Phillies' system by Baseball America this offseason. I had the opportunity to ask some questions of Justin this week regarding how he celebrates his holiday, among other Christmas type questions. Here is how that went down...

Can I get you to talk about your typical Christmas with relatives? Any good family traditions?

My Christmas starts on Christmas Eve. It's been the same schedule for as long as I can remember. Christmas Eve,we head down to Fountain Valley, Ca. to visit with my Dad's side of the family which consists of 17 members. We have dinner, exchange gifts and just visit. We're usually done with everything at about 10 o'clock so that's when we'll head back home to Oxnard. Usually, my family wakes up early Christmas morning so that we will have enough time to open gifts within my immediate family (5 people) before we go to Mass (Santa Clara Chapel in El Rio, Ca). After Mass we will go home and gather the remainder of our gifts and head to my Aunt's house to visit my Mom's side of the family which consists of (I might be counting wrong) 39 Aunt's, Uncle's and cousins. I come from a big Catholic family. Then, we'll eat and visit for little bit longer. After that, we're pretty worn out so we'll go back home and wind down.

What is your favorite food to eat during the holidays?

My favorite holiday food would have to be tamales. I don't know how many Phillies fans would know what those are, but if you are ever in Southern California during Christmas time, you have to have some.

What is your favorite holiday song?

My favorite holiday song...O Holy Night. I really like Celine Dion's Christmas CD called "These Are Special Times". You can thank my Mom for that. She listened to that CD a lot when I was younger.

What is your favorite holiday movie?

Probably The Muppet's Christmas Carol. It's so funny.

What was your favorite Christmas gift from your childhood?

I usually got the same thing every Christmas. I only asked for one thing.....A Rawlings Pro Preferred Glove. I couldn't stand using the same glove 2 years in a row so all I wanted was a new glove each year. I also remember being pretty excited about getting my first electric guitar too. I love to play the guitar and make music.

Do you have a Phillies ornament for your tree, and if the answer is no, WHY NOT?!

HAHA Yeah! I barely saw it this year and when I asked my Mom about it she said it has been there since I got drafted.

Your tree...real or fake?

Apparently, this is the first year in almost 10 years that we've had a real tree. It's less expensive to have a fake one and the Angel sits better on the top. The real one smells nice though.

Do your parents still hang ornaments you made for them in school?

No, my Mom wants her tree to look nice. Plus, my brothers and I are all old enough now to understand that all of that stuff is just crap.

What do you know about Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey?

I know absolutely nothing about that.

Can you name a 2009 BlueClaws teammate who you think would have the most Christmas spirit and why?

Travis Mattair because he is strong in faith and understands the real meaning and importance of Christmas.

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Happy holidays to all...!

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