Jenks spent six of his seven MLB seasons with the Chicago White Sox and recorded the final out of the team’s 2005 World Series championship.
Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star relief pitcher who recorded the final out in the Chicago White Sox’s 2005 World Series championship, passed away on the Fourth of July. Jenks, who was battling cancer, was 44 years old and died in Portugal, where he was receiving treatment.
The White Sox, who Jenks spent six of his seven MLB season with, announced Jenks’s death Saturday. Team owner and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf issued a statement in which he fondly remembered Jenks’s postseason heroics.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” Reinsdorf said. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago.”
“He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend, and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”
Jenks pitched in the majors from 2005 to 2011, with the first six of those seasons coming in Chicago. After establishing himself as a reliable arm out of the bullpen as a rookie, he was then promoted to the closer’s role for the White Sox in 2006. He would then post back-to-back seasons with 40-plus saves, making the MLB All-Star Game in both 2006 and 2007.
He held that role for a total of five seasons with Chicago, and his 167 saves from 2006 to 2010 were the fifth-most in all of baseball. The defining moment of his career came in the MLB playoffs in 2005, in which he appeared in seven games, with Chicago winning all seven. Jenks threw eight total innings in that postseason, posting a 2.25 ERA and saving four games.
By Ross Kelly
