MOVIES : HERE’S THE PITCH . . . STRIKE! : On the Big Screen: Madonna, Geena Davis (NOT!)

It seemed like a great idea: Show a trailer for Columbia Pictures’ “A League of Their Own”--a film about a 1940s women’s baseball league--on the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves stadiums’ DiamondVision screens during the World Series.

The movie, currently shooting in Cooperstown, N.Y., after a lengthy stretch at Evansville, Ind.’s, Bosse Field, is directed by Penny Marshall and stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna and Lori Petty. It’s scheduled for release next summer.

But Columbia struck out with the DiamondVision scheme. According to Columbia Marketing President Paula Silver, Major League Baseball only allows companies to advertise on the 24x36-foot screens during the Series if they have done it throughout the season.

“With a picture like this, we thought we had a natural,” said Silver.

But the idea isn’t dead. Silver says that although no film company has ever advertised movies on DiamondVision screens--now found at almost all the nation’s major league parks--Columbia is considering it for next season.

So, what are they doing now for “League” during the World Series? Well, instead of DiamondVision trailers, the studio is sending baseballs to sportswriters around the country, with autographs of several of the film’s stars, including Davis, Hanks and Madonna.