Bobby Jenks, Closer for 2005 White Sox Who Became All-Star, Dies at 44

He'd been battling a form of stomach cancer.

Bobby Jenks pitches against the Athletics in 2010. / Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

Bobby Jenks, the fan-favorite closer for the 2005 Chicago White Sox who went on to become a two-time All-Star, died Friday in Portugal, the team said in a Saturday afternoon social media post. He was 44.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a team 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."

Jenks had been battling adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer.

The White Sox called up Jenks, an Anaheim Angels draftee, midway through the '05 season. Gradually taking over the team's closer role, he saved four games in the postseason as Chicago won its first World Series title since 1917.

Becoming one of baseball's most dominant closers for several years, he averaged 38 saves per 162 games from 2006 to '10. He is second to Bobby Thigpen in franchise history in that category.

He signed with the Boston Red Sox before the 2011 season, but injuries quickly derailed his career, and he eventually received a $5 million malpractice settlement for a surgery he said hastened his 2012 retirement. In retirement, he wrote candidly about the surgery and his previous substance-abuse issues.

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