Bobby Jenks, a legendary Chicago White Sox pitcher and World Series winner, has died from stomach cancer. He was 44.
The White Sox revealed on social media that Jenks, a father of six, died on Friday, July 4, in Sintra, Portugal, where he had traveled to be closer to his wife’s family after their Pacific Palisades house was destroyed in the California wildfires.
His death comes five months after Jenks announced that he had stage 4 adenocarcinoma, a kind of stomach cancer.
“Bobby will forever hold a special place in all our hearts 🤍,” tweeted the White Sox account on X, adding a tribute video to Jenks.
Bobby will forever hold a special place in all our hearts 🤍 pic.twitter.com/CLNi7g0Tzh
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 5, 2025
A.J. Pierzynski, a former White Sox catcher, too, paid respect to his old colleague, writing on X, “Bobby, you will be missed. Prayers for his family.” Big guy with a big heart.”
Pierzynski closed his message with “#2005forever 💔,” referring to their winning the MLB World Series in 2005.
The former MLB All-Star spoke about his cancer diagnosis during an interview with MLB.com from his hospital bed in Portugal in February.
“You know, the things I was doing in my 20s and early 30s would have killed any normal person. So, in a way, I’m thankful to be alive,” Jenks said. “In another way, I’m not surprised this happened.”
“It demonstrates the importance of self-care, including proper nutrition, exercise, and a well-structured daily routine,” he stated.
The politician said, “I’m not suggesting you need to become a Greek god, but you need to monitor what you put into your body.” Regrettably, during my twenties, I didn’t give much thought to what was happening. I’m not suggesting it was the sole cause of what occurred here.”
MLB.com praised Jenks’ amazing rookie season in 2005, when his first pitch for the White Sox “registered 102 mph on the stadium scoreboard” and his last pitch that season “induced a World Series sweep-ending groundout… setting off celebrations and tears of joy across White Sox nation.”
Jenks, a two-time All-Star, played in Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2011, retiring with the Boston Red Sox.