Adrian Gonzalez, We Hardly Knew Ye - Another Printing Plate and a Couple of Commons

I'm sick.  Not the kind of sick where you bag out of work, rest up on the couch and watch a bunch of movies.  That kind of sick actually isn't half bad.  Nope, instead I'm the kind of sick where you go two days without getting out of bed except for trips to the bathroom.  This morning is the first time since Wednesday morning that I've even had the energy to sit at a computer.  Needless to say, I'm going to keep it brief today.  Here are a couple of new cards towards my Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox collection:

Here is my most recent printing plate, a magenta plate from 2011 Bowman baseball.  This was used to create the International parallel card, where each player was shown against the backdrop of a map of where they were born.  Interesting idea I guess, but I think the cards are way too busy looking and I'm not sure they were a success.  I certainly wouldn't pay top dollar for this plate (in fact I already passed on one of the other colored plates of this card once it went north of $20), but I couldn't pass on it for the bargain price I ended up winning it for.  I paid around $10 shipped, and it's not every day that you can add a 1/1 to your player collection at that price.

This is actually my 5th printing plate, and 6th 1/1 overall.  I never thought I would have made so much progress not even two months in.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be able to pick these up with less and less frequency though, just because I'm limiting my collection to Gonzalez Red Sox cards, which basically equates to 2011 and 2012 releases only.

At the opposite end of the collecting spectrum from the 1/1 printing plate, here are a couple of commons for the collection that I picked up dirt cheap on eBay.

First we have Adrian's base card from 2011 Allen & Ginter.  I snagged this one just because the seller was offering free shipping, and I ended up winning it for the starting bid of $.35.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but it turns out this is my first 2011 Allen & Ginter base card.  What can I say, better late than never I guess.

Finally, we have a 1987 Topps Mini insert from 2012 Topps baseball.  I know these were met with mixed reviews, but as a child of the late '80s I am a big fan.  I can certainly understand why some don't like 1987 Topps, for me it's completely a nostalgia thing.

At some point I'd like to track down the rest of the Red Sox from this insert set, particularly the Will Middlebrooks "Future Stars" mini.  Adrian here came from the same seller as the Allen & Ginter card above, this one costing me $.40 with free shipping.  These three cards cost me around $11 shipped in total, and take me up to 37 cards and counting in my Gonzalez Red Sox collection...

Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox Cards - Count
Total Cards - 37
#'d /2011 - 1
#'d /999 - 1
#'d/199 - 1
#'d/100 - 1
#'d/75 - 1
#'d /60 - 1
#'d/50 - 1
#'d/25 - 1
#'d/10 - 1
1/1 - 6
Relics - 0
Silk - 0
Autographs - 0
Printing Plates - 5