Always striving to grab a competitive edge, the White Sox are using dating website “It’s Just Lunch” to meet with free agents who might be prospective mates.
GM Rick Hahn said he decided to use the site “to meet new ball players without all the hassle. We just don’t have the time to schedule dates to meet with all of the players with whom we want to court.”
Hahn said he was inspired to use the service when he saw an ad for it while flipping backwards through a copy of Southwest Airlines’ “Spirit Magazine” on his four-stop flight from Midway to Orlando for MLB’s winter meetings.
The new approach has already been successful with the Sox signing pitcher Felipe Paulino just before the winter meetings began.
“We would never have signed Paulino had we not found him on ‘It’s Just Lunch,” Hahn said. “At least two other clubs were trying to hook up with him.”
“It was easy. We met at a local TGI Friday’s, had drinks and the loaded potato skins. The next thing you know, Felipe is our new set-up guy.”