TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani had the kind of historic season last year that obliterated any skepticism about his ability to convert his talent into performance.

Now what?

After his workout on the second official day of spring training Tuesday, Ohtani said his expectations are not merely to repeat what he did, but to get better.

“I feel like I can’t be doing the same thing as last year, to have the same stats,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “I need to get better and keep improving.”

Good luck with that.

Ohtani was the unanimous winner of the American League MVP last season, after he hit 46 homers and posted a .965 OPS at the plate while throwing 130 1/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA.

No major leaguer had achieved that level of success as a two-player since Babe Ruth more than 100 years earlier.

“Skills-wise, there is room for improvement,” Ohtani said. “Physically I feel a lot stronger than last year. So I think we’re off to a good start.”

Last year, Ohtani came to camp after a rigorous winter of training, including a trip to Driveline in Seattle.

“There’s nothing big that I changed (this winter),” Ohtani said. “It’s only been one year, so I’m trying to look at the long run, like a five- to 10-year span. I just want to continue what I’ve been doing and try to improve.”

Manager Joe Maddon isn’t greedy enough to expect improvement.

“It’s hard to imagine he’s going to do more this year than he did last year,” Maddon said. “I’ll take a repeat performance, adding maybe several more innings as a pitcher.”

Ohtani started 23 games last season, which was not quite the workload that a full-time starter would pitch. It’s doubtful Ohtani could ever get to the 32 starts and 200 innings that a traditional ace might reach, but there could be room for him to throw a little more often. He missed time on the mound with a blister, and also had a couple starts delayed by other random issues. He was hit by a pitch once and hit by a foul ball in the dugout.

It would also help if he could pitch the entire season with the control he had for most of last season. In his first four starts last year, Ohtani walked 9.2 hitters per nine innings. He cut that to 2.0 over his last 19 starts. The walks not only impacted his performance, but they cranked up his pitch count and forced him out of games early.

“Giving up hits is something that I can’t really have full control of, but giving up walks there is something I can control,” Ohtani said. “I feel like I had a lot better command in the second half the season last year. So I’d like to continue that in the beginning of this season.”

Catcher Max Stassi already got a glimpse of Ohtani on the mound when he caught some of his bullpen sessions at Driveline’s Arizona facility last month.

“He looks unbelievable,” Stassi said. “I can’t put any limits on him. He’s hungry as ever. He wants to pitch deeper into games. He wants to pitch more. And I think it’s gonna be another unbelievable year. I don’t doubt him one bit. His preparation has been phenomenal. It’s going to be exciting.”

Whether his season on the mound begins on Opening Day remains to be seen. Although it seems like a no-brainer for Maddon to select Ohtani as his starter for the first game April 7 at home against the Houston Astros, Maddon has declined to make it official.

While Maddon is being tight-lipped about the rather obvious choice to have Ohtani pitch Opening Day, Ohtani was saying little about a much more intriguing issue.

He has two seasons left before free agency, and until the Angels sign him to an extension, the question will linger over Ohtani and the franchise. Asked Tuesday if there had been any extension talks, Ohtani said: “Spring training is underway so I try not to think about that stuff. Nez Balelo, my agent, is on it.”

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The Angels and Ohtani’s camp were not allowed to talk during the lockout, which just ended Thursday. There are now just three weeks left to hammer out a deal before the season. Ohtani was noncommittal when asked if he’d entertain extension talk during the season.

“I just want to focus on the season,” he said. “Whether they approach me during the season or not, I’m leaving it all to my agent.”