Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star closer and 2005 World Series champion with the Chicago White Sox, has died at the age of 44.

The team announced on X: ‘Former Chicago White Sox All-Star pitcher and 2005 World Series Champion Bobby Jenks passed away yesterday, July 4, in Sintra, Portugal, where he had been battling adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. He was 44 years old.’  Jenks had revealed his diagnosis during a February 2025 interview with MLB.com from Portugal, where he moved with his wife in 2024.

The White Sox posted a video tribute on X with the caption: ‘Bobby will forever hold a special place in all our hearts ’

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement: “We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today. 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 spent six of his seven MLB seasons with the White Sox, saving 173 games for the White Sox from 2005-10 before finishing his career with 19 appearances in 2011 for the Boston Red Sox.  Jenks helped the White Sox win the 2005 World Series, saving four games in six appearances during the postseason. He was an All-Star in each of the next two seasons while saving 41 games in 2006 and 40 in 2007 (during which he retired 47 consecutive batters). His career ended with a 16-20 record, including a 3.53 ERA and 351 strikeouts in 348 appearances, all in relief.

In May 2021, Jenks began working as the pitching coach for the minor-league Grand Junction Rockies. The next season, he was promoted to manager and won the league’s Manager of the Year award after helping the team win a championship. He went on to spend the 2023 season as the Princeton WhistlePigs’ pitching coach before he returned to managing with the Windy City ThunderBolts later that year

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.

Editorial credit: Joseph Hendrickson / Shutterstock.com