ANAHEIM, Calif. – Marwin Gonzalez travels with four baseball gloves – three gloves and a mitt, actually – which maybe isn't so strange except they're all gamers, and one of them belonged to teammate Chris Carter for seven years, and enough he has to split them up on the road, two in his backpack and two in bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte's suitcase.

View photos Marwin Gonzalez is hitting .282 with 10 home runs this season. (Getty Images) More

Probably when the story of the Houston Astros' season is told in its entirety, it could take a while to get to Gonzalez, his gloves, his mitt and the two trips he'd have to take from the clubhouse to the dugout were he to arrive ready for all the Astros asked him to do, because he also required a couple bats and a shin guard, along with the appetite and aptitude to be the Astros' everything.

In the season the Astros grew up, Gonzalez played first base, shortstop, third base, second base and left field. And he didn't just dabble in them, either. He played left field nine times, the least of his appearances in a defensive position.

"He could play right or center too, if I asked him to do it," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

Gonzalez also switch-hit. He took at-bats as the designated hitter. He hit in every spot in the order. He pinch hit 15 times and pinch ran once. He stole four bases. You may remember him as the guy who ended Yu Darvish's perfect game in April 2013, when he singled after 26 consecutive Astros came and went. Maybe you recall his walk-off home run against the Tampa Bay Rays last month. Or, perhaps, the name sounds familiar, as one of five Astros still on the roster from just three years ago, in 2012, when the Astros lost 107 games (and then lost 111 the year after).

At a time when there are bigger names and games, and because of it the Astros are a decent bet to win their first division title in 14 years (and in those years finished an average of 19.2 games out of first place), Gonzalez subbed for Jed Lowrie at shortstop, Jose Altuve at second base, Carlos Correa at shortstop, Evan Gattis (and others) in left field, Carter at first base, Luis Valbuena at third base and variously provided the depth – capable depth – that's the difference between a nice little team and a playoff team. He didn't just hold a position because the league generally requires nine men out there, but played capably at them all, and then batted .281 with 10 home runs, then in the second half hit .328, and for the past couple weeks hit .424. And now he's hitting so well Hinch can hardly leave him out of the lineup.

"Of course I want to be an everyday player one day," he said Friday night, hours before he'd start at first base against the Los Angeles Angels. "In the future, that's one of my goals. I don't have control like that. It's just not the situation right now."

So he showed up, studied the lineup card and picked out a glove, not unlike the handful of very good, very valuable utilitymen out there, but maybe better than all but a few, in a season that has meant more than most in Houston.

View photos Gonzalez is a man of many positions. (AP) More

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