All eyes have been on Shohei Ohtani this spring, as the baseball star from Japan tries to make the jump to major league baseball.

Ohtani is attempting something that has never really been done before. We’ve seen stars from Japan come over and make immediate an impact in the majors — Ichiro Suzuki and Hideo Nomo headline a long, long list — but Ohtani is younger than those players, and he's attempting to play dual roles as a hitter and pitcher. It's an ambitious goal, and his on-field results have been mixed to this point of the spring.

FOSTER: Bank on Ohtani's spring numbers at your own peril

The Ohtani hype, as you know, has been significant. A massive media throng has followed his every move. The Angels have added major sponsors. Merchandise has been created and is selling like crazy. And, of course, the collectibles market has joined the fray, too.

Ohtani signed an autograph deal with Panini, and those signed cards will be included in all of Panini’s licensed offerings this year. If you want to track them down, they’re available at pretty much any hobby shop, and also at Target, Walmart and iCollectPanini.com.

As part of his agreement with Panini, Ohtani did a round of media interviews, including with Sporting News. I spoke with him on the phone Tuesday evening, and a portion of that interview is below. Ohtani’s personal interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, served as translator, and the responses here have been lightly edited for clarity.

SPORTING NEWS: I hear you're actually opening packs of cards as we speak. What's the best one you've pulled so far?

SHOHEI OHTANI: (laughs) I got three Mike Trouts.

SN: Excellent. So what have you learned about Mike since you arrived at Angels camp?

SO: Even though he’s a huge name, he's very down to earth. He tries to welcome me, make me feel welcome. Can't say anything bad about him. He's been really great for me.

SN: Watching him play up close this spring, are you as amazed as the rest of us with how good he is at this sport?

SO: Of course, watching him play is very exciting. He looks a lot better watching him in person than on TV. You can really kind of feel how good he is, see all his skills and tools.

SN: Tell me about this Panini deal.

SO: I’m really excited to announce the relationship with Panini, so that I can ensure my fans can collect my autographed rookie baseball cards across Panini's 2018 baseball products.

SN: Who’s the teammate who makes you laugh the most?

SO: There are a lot of funny guys on the team. It’s hard to pick just one, but if I could pick a couple, it would be Martin Maldonado and Kole Calhoun. They’re really funny. It feels like the position players are a little bit funnier than the pitchers.

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SN: What have you learned this spring about what you need to do to have success in the majors?

SO: First of all, when I came here I tried not to change anything, just tried to keep everything the same as my days in Japan. And if that doesn’t work out, obviously there are going to be some adjustments I need to make here. I'm starting to learn those adjustments and trying to work on that right now.

SN: Do you talk with (Angels manager) Mike Scioscia every day? What do you guys talk about?

SO: We talk every day. We see each other and say "Hi" every morning. He’ll ask how I’m feeling and I'll tell him how I feel. And he talks with me during the meetings, too.

SN: How would you assess your spring so far?

SO: Playing-wise, I’m learning new things every day. I’m trying to learn from the mistakes I made the previous day. Just trying to improve every day. My body feels good. Nothing hurts, no injuries. That’s all I can ask for right now.

SN: Tell me about your hit last night, off the lefty. I know the Angels have talked about that as a focus.

SO: That was just a coincidence. Honestly, righty or lefty, it doesn’t really matter to me. When you look at my stats in Japan, I hit them pretty evenly. So a base hit off a lefty doesn’t mean much more than a righty.

SN: On the mound this spring, you’ve had a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks. Is that just a process of trying to refine everything right now?

SO: I'm in the process of trying to address the ball, the mound, the whole environment and the new culture. I didn’t really expect to be able to address all that fully within a month of two. I’m trying to use the season to try to get adjusted as quick as possible, in the most efficient way. That’s what my goal is.

SN: What has been your favorite day of the spring?

SO: Mike Trout set up a night golf game for the team. They used glow-in-the-dark golf balls, and they set up glow sticks around the fairways and the greens. That was fun stuff.

SN: That sounds like fun. How’s your golf game?

SO: (laughs) Not too good.

SN: I’m the same way. What’s the best part of your game, with the driver off the tee or around the green?

SO: Most of all, I hit the ball really far.

SN: Is there something you’ve missed about Japan while you’ve been in Arizona this spring?

SO: (laughs) Mainly, speaking the language to everybody else.