Bobby Jenks, who became a Chicago folk hero as the closer for the 2005 World Series champion White Sox and more recently managed the Windy City ThunderBolts, has died after battling cancer. He was 44.
The White Sox announced Saturday that Jenks died on Friday in Sintra, Portugal, where he had been living after being diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer.
Jenks was heading into his second season as manager of the Frontier League’s ThunderBolts when the club announced on Feb. 15 that he would be leaving the team to undergo medical treatment. His former White Sox teammate, Toby Hall, has served as interim manager this season.
“Bobby Jenks’ impact on our organization was immense despite only being with us just over one year,” ThunderBolts general manager Mike VerSchave said in a statement. “He joined the club as someone who wanted to not only teach the game of baseball the right way, but also show his players there was more to life than just winning and losing. Bobby’s experiences taught him not to take life for granted and in one short summer he became an amazing mentor and friend for everyone at our organization.”
“Bobby you will be missed,” former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski wrote on X. “Prayers to his family. Huge guy with a huge heart. #2005forever (heart emoji)”
“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 2025 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 our hearts.”
Jenks, who was from Mission Hills, California, pitched six seasons for the White Sox from 2005-2010 and also played one season for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. He had a 16-20 career record with a 3.53 earned run average and 173 saves across 348 appearances.
When the Sox went 11-1 in the 2005 playoffs, Jenks appeared in six games and earned saves in series-clinching wins against the Red Sox in the American League Division Series and against the Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Jenks was an American League All-Star in 2006 and 2007, when he had a combined 81 saves.
Hall and Jenks had worked together with the Pioneer League’s Grand Junction Rockies in 2022 and they were planning to reunite with Windy City this season.
“This whole thing sucks,” Hall told Southwest Regional Publishing in April. “I’m going to do the best I can to get it done. … Everybody thinks he’s the closer and World Series champ, but he’s a hell of a manager. And his preparation — I would always tell him, too. I’m like, ‘Man, I didn’t see that, that wasn’t on my bingo card that you’d be this good.’
“But we jelled so much as far as us being coaches together, not just buddies.”
Jenks is survived by his wife Eleni Tzitzivacos and six children.