Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died on Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.
Jenks, 44, who had been battling adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005-10, and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. All told, the reliever finished his major league career at 16-20 with a 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “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.”
After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, and began undergoing radiation.
In February, as Jenks battled illness, the White Sox posted a “We stand with you, Bobby,” post on Instagram, adding, in the post, that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”
Bobby will forever hold a special place in all our hearts 🤍 pic.twitter.com/CLNi7g0Tzh
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 5, 2025
In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I (was) playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”
A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox, and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.
Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.
