Spider-Man gets picked off base

Spider-Man ads on bases didn't fly with baseball fans.

A day after announcing a novel promotion to have advertisements on bases next month, Major League Baseball reversed course Thursday and eliminated that part of its marketing deal for "Spider-Man 2."

"The bases were an extremely small part of this program," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer. "However, we understand that a segment of our fans was uncomfortable with this particular component and we do not want to detract from the fan's experience in any way."

Under the original plan, red-and-yellow ads were to appear on bases -- but not home plate -- during games from June 11 to 13. The plan began to crumble Wednesday night when the New York Yankees said they would only allow the ads on bases during batting practice -- and only for one game that weekend.

The ads were to appear as part of a deal involving Major League Baseball Properties, Marvel Studios and Sony Inc., the parent of Columbia Pictures, which is releasing the movie. The promotion will go on with giveaways and other ads at ballparks that weekend.

-- AP