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Rollins: 'Mets Were My No. 2' Choice

By Andrew Porter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Say it ain't so, Jimmy. Say it ain't so!

Former Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who had full no-trade rights, accepted a deal to the LA Dodgers this off-season. Apparently, his second choice was to play for the hated-Mets.

"This was my No. 1 landing spot, and I considered the Mets to be No. 2," Rollins said on Saturday from Dodgers camp, according to ESPN.com. "They have some arms over there, oh my gosh. I'm not saying I would have gone there. It would have taken a lot.

"But when I was asked, 'Write down the places you would go if you don't have any (no-trade protection),' I had one team on my list and another where I would go if it didn't work out. Fortunately it worked out here. I'm very delighted with that."

Rollins has killed the Mets during his tenure as a Phillie. Before the 2007 season, Rollins declared the Phillies the, "Team to beat." Sure enough, the Phillies rallied from a late-season deficit to catch the Mets and win the National League East. Rollins won the NL MVP.

The following season in 2008, Rollins led the Phillies to a World Series.

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