By Spike Eskin

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Hunter Pence’s name was the subject of a trade rumor earlier today in a report from Fox’s Ken Rosenthal (read related story). If Pence has anything to say about it, he’ll be staying right here in Philadelphia.

“I just heard [the report]. Right now. I love Philly, I love being here, I mean look at these fans. The passion is unbelievable. There’s no better place to play baseball, no better place to win, really no worse place to lose, but that’s what you’ve got to love if you’re a competitor, you love passion from your fans,” Pence told 94WIP’s Michael Barkann and Ike Reese. “You know, we expect a lot of ourselves and I absolutely love it here, so I hope [a trade] doesn’t come through.”

Pence was the subject of similar rumors last season, and was eventually dealt from the Astros to the Phillies. “Last year was different, because I had to deal with it for a long time. There was a lot of anxiety last year, and I realized that you do have to just block that out. You do have to just go out there and play, and you know it ended up being beautiful for me, to come here to Philly. I’ve absolutely loved every bit of it, so I’m going to just trust. Because right now I’m in Philly. I’m happy. We’ve got a great opportunity to make one of the greatest comebacks. In our minds we see that,” he said.

Pence doesn’t think anyone should count the Phillies out just yet. “You’re talking about the Phillies here. They didn’t win all of those division championships in a row because they don’t know how to win, and we don’t know how to fight. Sometimes coming from behind builds a lot of character,” he said. “Our mindset is to overcome.

Our mindset is to overcome.