Chicago White Sox pay tribute to Bobby Jenks throughout 2005 World Series championship reunion celebration
The two-time All-Star pitcher died on July 4 in Sintra, Portugal, where he had been battling adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. He was 44.
Jenks played a pivotal role for the 2005 World Series championship club. Several of his teammates were in Chicago this weekend for a reunion celebration.
It also served as a chance to continue to pay tribute to Jenks.
'We had a chance to really think about him and honor him,' first baseman Paul Konerko said on Saturday.
During Saturday's pregame ceremony, the Sox played a video honoring Jenks. The crowd gave a standing ovation after the introduction of Jenks' family.
'This is a special (reunion), and it's something you don't take for granted,' outfielder Jermaine Dye said Friday. 'You take in all the memories. Obviously we are going to miss one teammate, Bobby Jenks. A special teammate, a special friend, a special guy on our team. I know fans probably didn't get to see the Bobby Jenks behind the scenes like we did. They saw him as a hard-nosed closer, who went out there. But we saw the other side of him, a great guy that loved to joke around, smiled a lot.
'He's definitely going to be missed.'
Dye closed his speech during Saturday's ceremony by remembering Jenks: 'A great teammate and a great guy. We love you, we thank you.'
Pitcher Mark Buehrle led a toast to Jenks at the end of Saturday's pregame event.
'I'm sure I've lost teammates over the years, but losing somebody like that — he's a little kid in a big-man body, always goofing off, always having fun,' Buehrle said Friday. 'Not having him here, hearing that news, it hit me a little harder than I thought it would when I first heard of it. It's definitely very sad.'
The Sox honored Buehrle Friday by unveiling a statue of the left-hander on the outfield concourse. Buehrle began his speech during the ceremony by remembering Jenks.
'He was throwing 100 (mph) before other guys were throwing 100,' Buehrle said afterward. 'He just had nasty stuff. He had a dominating presence out there. He was just feared. Guys look out there and see this big dude out there. I know I was scared of him in the clubhouse a few times, like, 'I'm not getting on this guy's bad side.''
Jenks went 14-18 with a 3.40 ERA, 173 saves and 334 strikeouts over 329 relief appearances while pitching for the Sox from 2005-10. He ranks second among franchise relief leaders in saves, sixth in appearances and seventh in strikeouts. The Sox will wear the No. 45 patch for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Dye laughed and said, 'Can't tell you that,' when asked to share a favorite story about Jenks.
He then continued, 'I always liked to poke fun, I would come from behind him and he does not like to be tickled or touched. I used to tickle him a lot. But he used to play with my kids when they were younger, that's just Bobby. A little jokester. Played pranks a lot on guys. Just sad that he's not going to be here with us.'
Ozzie Guillén, who guided the 2005 team to the title as the manager, said Jenks was 'special for everyone.'
'Whoever you talk to, they will tell you how special Bobby was,' Guillén said on Friday. 'Special. He's a baby bear. He had a closer mentality but when he left the mound it's like, 'We're going to Disneyland tomorrow. OK.' That type of guy.'
Recalling the family bond Jenks had with teammates, coaches and the Sox organization as a whole, Guillén said, 'He knows exactly they love him.'
'And good or bad, they will tell him right away what's going on,' Guillén said. 'We feel him? Yes, of course. I don't feel him because he made us win the championship. I feel him because of what kind of guy he was.
'You never die when people will remember you every day, every time.'
Konerko remembers conversations when Jenks managed independent baseball.
'After so long of fighting a lot of things, he was in an awesome place and putting other people in good places, that's hard to do,' Konerko said. 'I'm glad he was able to get to that place before this, but it just sucks he wasn't able to have more time to do it.'
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