Kintetsu Buffaloes slugger Tuffy Rhodes on Friday visited the Tokyo office of the Japan Red Cross as a representative of the Pacific League club to donate 2.16 million yen to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Rhodes presented the money, including 1.2 million yen collected from fans at Osaka Dome during the first two games of the Japan Series, to an official of the Red Cross.
"I'm very thankful to the fans who cooperated. We cannot bring back lost lives with this money, but I wanted to do something for my country," said Rhodes, who tied the Japanese home run record of 55 this past season while leading Kintetsu to the PL pennant.
Toyama agrees to cut
OSAKA -- Hanshin Tigers southpaw Shoji Toyama agreed to a salary cut with the Central League club on Friday after declaring himself a free agent a day earlier.
Toyama, who was taking part in the team's fall training camp, reached an agreement on a single-season contract to stay on next year with Hanshin after negotiations via telephone Thursday night.
"His yearly salary will be lowered, but he took the re-signing bonus into consideration," a front office official said.