Former Major League Baseball closer Bobby Jenks has died at the age of 44 after a battle with a terminal form of stomach cancer, the Chicago White Sox announced on Saturday. Jenks died on July 4 in Sintra, Portugal.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox owner 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.”
Jenks last pitched in the majors for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. Across his seven seasons at the highest level, he pitched to a 3.53 ERA with 173 saves and 351 strikeouts in 357 ⅓ innings. He picked up an additional five saves in nine postseason appearances, across which he posted an ERA of 2.00. Armed with one of the biggest fastballs of his era, Jenks also earned a pair of All-Star selections as a member of the White Sox. As a rookie in 2005, Jenks emerged as closer for the White Sox team that went on to win the World Series. He picked up two saves in the White Sox’s sweep of the Houston Astros, then members of the National League, in that World Series. He also recorded the last out in the clinching Game 4:
Jenks disclosed his adenocarcinoma diagnosis in February of this year while he was hospitalized in Portugal, where he and his family had moved in order to be closer to his wife’s relatives.
According to the White Sox, 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.
