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A star is being mourned by the baseball community. The Chicago White Sox revealed that two-time All-Star pitcher Robert "Bobby" Jenks passed away in Portugal on July 4 after battling stage 4 stomach cancer. He was forty-four.
White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf remarked, "We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family," in a statement issued by the team on July 4. "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 continued. "He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts."
With his loved ones, Jenks, who played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011 after playing for the White Sox from 2005 to 2010, demonstrated his strength both on and off the field.
His Chicago teammate Paul Konerko noted, "Everyone remembers him as a big guy and tough competitor who could throw 100, but he was really a big teddy bear off the field," in a statement to Major League Baseball. "Bobby was on the mound at the end of the game for some of the biggest victories in White Sox history, and he played a huge role in our success. Everyone will sincerely miss him.
Although he officially retired from Major League Baseball in 2011, Jenks, who is the father of Cuma, Zeno, and Kate with wife Eleni Tzitzivacos and Nolan, Rylan, and Jackson with ex-wife Adele Romkee, continued his career in baseball, managing the Frontier League's Windy City Thunderbolts. After all, baseball was a staple in all facets of his life.
"You play for the love of the game, the joy of it," he said to SoxTV last September. "I love doing that." I wanted to be a world champion since I first picked up a baseball, and that's what I'm playing for."
Beyond simply Jenks' condition, which he disclosed to MLB.com in February, it had been a challenging chapter since, while he was receiving treatment, his Los Angeles home burned down during the fierce wildfires earlier this year. He had his World Series championship ring with him, but the fire destroyed much of his baseball memorabilia.
During his battle, Jenks was concentrating on things that were more important than material possessions, even as he lamented the loss of his collection.
"Momma didn't raise no Cubs fan here," Jenks teased to the outlet. "My job is to do everything I can to keep myself in the best possible mental and physical state I can during the process, especially for the kids."
