Hisanori Takahashi leads Angels’ effort to raise funds for earthquake and tsunami victims

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Hisanori Takahashi, the Angels left-hander who pitched in Japan for 10 years before coming to the U.S., is spearheading a teamwide fund-raising effort to aid the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

Manager Mike Scioscia announced in a team meeting over the weekend that Takahashi will be collecting donations from teammates.

The reliever will then make a lump-sum donation to relief efforts in his native country through a website called the Power Nippon Project, which a number of Japanese athletes, television personalities and entertainment figures began to help reconstruct areas hit by the disaster.

‘I hope they give me some money, even if it’s just quarters,’ Takahashi said through an interpreter. ‘Of course, more is better, but I don’t want to set a goal.’

Fans can also make donations through the website, which can be found at www.power-nippon.com. Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui, who played for the Angels last season before signing with the Oakland Athletics, last week made a $620,000 donation to the Japanese Red Cross.

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-- Mike DiGiovanna in Tempe, Ariz.