Ex-Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks has passed away at 44 after battling Stage 4 adenocarcinoma, which is stomach cancer. Jenks, a two-time All-Star who assisted the White Sox in winning the 2005 World Series, initially publicly disclosed his diagnosis in February 2025 in an interview with MLB.com. He was receiving treatment at a hospital in Portugal at the time, where he had relocated to be near his wife’s relatives.
Jenks already had significant health issues prior to the discovery of his cancer. In December 2011, he underwent back surgery to have bone spurs removed, but the operation went horribly wrong when Dr. Kirkham Wood of Massachusetts General Hospital did not finish the surgery and left Jenks with a serrated edge of bone in his spine. This error resulted in spinal fluid leakage and developed into a serious infection that spread to his brain stem, almost taking his life.
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. pic.twitter.com/KDb3I0KL66
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 5, 2025
Only two weeks afterward, Jenks was in for emergency surgery and was bedridden for three months. The ordeal effectively ruined his 2012 season, and the Boston Red Sox ultimately released him. In 2015, Jenks sued the hospital and Dr. Wood, learning that during his procedure, the surgeon was also operating on a paralyzed patient. Jenks resolved the case in 2019 for $5.1 million, declaring that neither patient was properly cared for and that ‘his surgery was rushed’. Even more surgeries later, Jenks required spinal fusion surgery, closing forever any baseball return.
Career Highlights and Coaching Path
Jenks pitched seven seasons in the majors, six of those for the White Sox. He was an All-Star in 2006 and 2007, had consecutive 40-save seasons, and accounted for 86 saves in his last three seasons in Chicago. In 2007, he stunned the baseball world by retiring 47 straight batters, tying a Major League record. Jenks finished out his playing career with the Boston Red Sox in 2011.
After his stint on the pitching mound, Jenks went on to coach. In May 2021, he was appointed the Grand Junction Rockies’ pitching coach and promoted to manager in the following year, taking them to the league championship and earning Manager of the Year accolades. He subsequently worked as pitching coach for the Princeton WhistlePigs in 2023 before assuming managerial responsibilities with the Windy City ThunderBolts the same year.
Family and Last Days
A father of six children, Jenks moved to Portugal with his wife, Eleni, in October 2024 so that he could be close to her family. He was soon after diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right leg, which developed into several blood clots in his lungs. His health started deteriorating in early 2025, and tests revealed a tumor in his chest. Further scans showed that the cancer had also invaded his stomach lining, bones, lower back, and hips.
