Profile
Ballpark Alex is Alex Diaz, a sports card seller based in Miami, Florida. He posts as @ballpark_alex on Instagram, where he has roughly 17,000 followers, sells on Facebook Marketplace under the name Alex Diaz, posts as @Ballpark_alex on YouTube, also sells on Mercari as Vivale Collectibles, and sits on the CTCA Advisory Board, where he co-authors the Collector Trust Series — a column about transparency, disclosure and trust in the hobby.
He is also known for something else: selling cards using AI-enhanced photos that hide damage. In a documented August 2026 sale, a $1,200 Shohei Ohtani card was advertised as “real clean” with flawless listing images and arrived with a soft, whitened corner. Every resolution offered — a partial refund, and a full refund with the card returned — was refused. The listing was deleted and the buyer was blocked.
Ballpark Alex is Alex Diaz, a sports card seller based in Miami, Florida. He posts as @ballpark_alex on Instagram, where he has roughly 17,000 followers, sells on Facebook Marketplace under the name Alex Diaz, also sells on Mercari under the name Vivale Collectibles, and sits on the CTCA Advisory Board, where he co-authors the Collector Trust Series about transparency and trust in the hobby.
Alex Diaz is the real name behind the sports card account Ballpark Alex (@ballpark_alex). He is known in the hobby for his Instagram following and his CTCA advisory role, and he is also known for a documented sale in which a $1,200 Shohei Ohtani card was advertised with AI-enhanced photos that hid corner damage.
Yes. In a documented August 2026 sale, the Facebook Marketplace listing photos used by Ballpark Alex were AI-enhanced: the corners appeared razor-sharp and the surface flawless, while the card that arrived had a soft, whitened bottom-right corner. He never denied the AI editing when confronted with it.
Buyers should be cautious. In the documented case on this site, Ballpark Alex sold a card as 'real clean,' sent photos that did not match the card that shipped, provided no drop-off receipt while tracking sat idle for days, then refused both a partial refund and a full refund with the card returned, deleted the listing, and blocked the buyer.
In August 2026 Ballpark Alex sold a 2026 Topps Finest Shohei Ohtani 'The Man' SSP #TM-2 for $1,200, paid by Zelle in three payments to a recipient registered as Alexis Diaz. The listing photos were AI-enhanced, the extra 'proof' photos he sent did not match the card, and the card arrived with undisclosed corner damage. Every resolution the buyer offered was refused.
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