TAMPA, Fla. -- With his team down to its final strike in Game 6 of last year’s American League Championship Series, DJ LeMahieu thought he had saved the season when he finished a 10-pitch battle with a game-tying home run off the Astros’ Roberto Osuna. What transpired in the next half-inning is still difficult to swallow for the Yankees infielder.

“It was a tough, tough loss, and I think it makes me even more excited to be here starting Spring Training again,” LeMahieu said on Wednesday. “It went from, 'I thought we were going to win the World Series' to being in the locker room real quick.”

While the Yankees are still absorbing José Altuve’s walk-off home run, along with the other revelations about Houston’s off-the-field operation, LeMahieu is aiming to improve upon a wildly productive debut season in pinstripes that prompted Yankees manager Aaron Boone to label the 31-year-old as the team’s Most Valuable Player.

“He loves to play,” Boone said of LeMahieu. “His work is really efficient. He doesn't overdo anything. He's real particular with his swings in the course of the day, what he does right before the game to get ready. He's just got a really solid routine. And there's just something a little bit different that he brings to the room [that] I think guys are drawn to, even though he's not the most vocal guy. I think guys look up to him and enjoy him. He, as much as anyone on our team, really likes to play the game.”

LeMahieu said that the high bar of his standout 2019 campaign has boosted his confidence heading into the new season.

“I think I get in trouble if I try to do too much, so I just kind of stay within myself,” LeMahieu said. “I did a really good job of it last year and the results happened. For me, I'm not trying to live up to anything, I'm not trying to do anything. I should just be myself and everything takes care of itself.”

LeMahieu batted .327/.375/.518 with 26 homers and 102 RBIs in 145 games for the Bombers last year, setting career highs in runs (109), hits (197), extra-base hits (61), RBIs and multi-hit games (61). LeMahieu led the Majors with a .389 batting average with runners in scoring position, the best by a Yankee since Paul O’Neill hit .428 in 1997.

“I work really hard to have seasons like that and impact teams like that,” LeMahieu said. “I never knew if it was possible to [have] that kind of impact, but I always strive for it.”

As he enters the second and final year of a $24 million contract, LeMahieu said that there have not yet been any negotiations with the Yankees, but he is open to signing an extension.

“Obviously, I’d love to be here,” LeMahieu said.