BTS member V (Kim Taehyung) threw the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on August 25, 2025, before the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Cincinnati Reds, marking his debut on the baseball stage. The Dodgers’ announcement of his appearance caused ticket sales to surge fivefold and temporarily crashed the MLB website, with fans calling it the “Power of Kim Taehyung.”
To celebrate the milestone, Chinese fanclub V Bar flew a 60-meter banner reading “ONE & ONLY MY SUPERSTAR V” over the stadium for four hours before the game. Korean and global fanbases including V INSIDE, Kim Taehyung Supporters Korea, and V Union also arranged large digital billboards along the 710 and 5 Freeways, two of Los Angeles’ busiest routes.
Inside the stadium, ribbon board messages displayed fans’ love and pride. Proceeds from these messages were donated to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, supporting youth education, health, homelessness relief, and social justice programs in Los Angeles.
With this appearance, V became the third BTS member to throw a ceremonial first pitch, following Jungkook in 2017 and J-Hope in 2024. His debut highlighted BTS’ global reach, blending music, fandom, and community impact on one of baseball’s biggest stages.
BY YOONJAE JUNG [jung.yoonjae@koreadaily.com]
