Who was Bobby Jenks? 6 things you should know about the World-Series hero who died aged 44

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Bobby Jenks, the 2005 World Series winner, passed away on Friday, July 4. After a valiant fight with stage 4 cancer, the former Chicago White Sox standout died at the age of 44. He committed his entire life to baseball, even after he retired.

He’s left more than simply a legacy. The once-elite closer who made stadiums shout with his presence on the pitch spent his final years battling for his life.

Bobby Jenks, a resident of Mission Hills, California, was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms in October of last year. He did not regain his strength for months and was finally hospitalized for jaundice. Then came the dreadful news: a stage 4 adenocarcinoma diagnosis, which is stomach cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer quickly spread to other regions of his body.

It appears to be a fatal sickness with no treatment, only temporary control. When her wife learned of the diagnosis in February, she fled the hospital room in tears. The baseball world and beyond were completely astonished. And today, the globe is in grief over his death.

Who was Bobby Jenks? What happened to him? All to know

Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel, Gettyimage

The news of his death was confirmed on July 5. Bobby Jenks once pitched for the Chicago White Sox. He was hailed as an “iconic member” of the White Sox community.

The pinnacle of his career was his effort in the team’s 2005 World Series championship. He rescued four postseason games and was named an All-Star in both 2006 and 2007. He made 41 and 40 saves in those seasons.

Jenks leaves behind his wife, Eleni, and their two children, Kate and Zeno, as well as four children from his former marriage: Jackson, Nolan, Rylan, and Cuma.

This loss has left a profound vacuum for someone who had dedicated his life to the game even after retirement.

When his condition was revealed, his loved ones remained strong and hopeful that he would pull through. In reality, he felt he could overcome his sickness.

During a phone interview with The Athletic in April, he stated, “What gets me through this is my faith.” However, the reality of cancer took away the baseball mythology.

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Early Life and Education

Robert Scott Jenks was born on March 14, 1981, in Mission Hills, California. Jenks relocated with his family to Spirit Lake, Idaho, where he attended Timberlake High School, and then to Kenmore, Washington, where he attended Inglemoor High School but was unable to play baseball due to poor academic performance.

Jenks was ineligible to play the rest of his high school career owing to poor academic performance, so he played in American Legion Baseball, where he caught the attention of scouts.

Career

Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel, Gettyimage

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound right-hander was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 2000 and made his debut for Chicago in July 2005.

Within three months, Bobby Jenks broke the club’s 88-year title drought by throwing 102-mph heaters and recording the last out.

Jenks saved 173 games, the second most in team history, and received All-Star honors in 2006 and 2007. After his big-league career was cut short due to spinal fusion issues in 2011, he remade himself as a bench player.

Bobby Jenks led the Grand Junction Rockies to a Pioneer League title in 2022 and was awarded Manager of the Year before taking over the Windy City ThunderBolts in October.

Bobby Jenks Death

Adenocarcinoma is a deadly stomach cancer. It is a malignant tumor that arises from glandular structures in epithelial tissue. If not detected early enough, it can be deadly. That’s what happened to our favorite White Sox closer.

Bobby Jenks was especially concerned since he had stage 4 stomach adenocarcinoma. First, it started in the inner lining of his stomach and rapidly spread to other organs as well.

This disease changed everything for him and his family. In recent years, Bobby Jenks had been in Sintra, Portugal, to stay closer to his in-laws. That’s where he was being treated as of late.

He had to deplete all of his funds since he had to quit his job. Once everything was done, he had to sign and sell baseballs to continue his therapy. The Jenks family threw up their health insurance years ago because it was too pricey.

Medical expenses weighed heavily on him. The family began experiencing significant financial difficulties. Everything Jenks could save would go directly to his children.

However, Bobby Jenks ‘and his family’s war is now over. It’s heartbreaking to see our star leave at such a young age, even after fighting so hard. Condolences have been pouring in since Friday.

Personal life

Jenks was married twice: first to Adele Romkee, with whom he had four children, and then to Eleni Tzitzivacos until he died in 2025. Jenks and Tzitzivacos have two children together. As of May 2019, he resided in Malibu, California.

Jenks became hooked on opioids immediately after his back injury, using “probably up to 60+ pills a day.” And, on some days, that was likely on the low side.” In 2012, he attempted to detox for a week before coming to spring training, but he returned to ordering through a “pill mill” the next day. Jenks wrote about his addiction experiences for The Players’ Tribune in 2019.

He described mixing Percocet and Ambien while alone at his apartment in Fort Myers, Florida, for spring training, which caused him to lay out the food from his refrigerator on the floor before stabbing his television with a knife. Between March and July 2012, he was caught and accused twice of driving under the influence of painkillers. In May, his family attempted an intervention, and he was sent to inpatient rehab.

He ultimately recognized to himself and others that he was both an alcoholic and an addict; following his 2013 operation, he experienced a divorce and sadness. As of 2019, he had been clean for seven years and three months while lobbying for a prohibition on concurrent operations, such as the one that almost ruined his career.

Jenks relocated to Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades, where his home was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in 2025. Jenks also spent time in Portugal during the baseball offseason to be closer to his second wife’s relatives.

Bobby Jenks’ Net Worth

According to Revista Merca, Bobby Jenks’ net worth at the time of his death was believed to be $5.1 million. The image resulted from a faulty back surgery that terminated his career. In 2019, he resolved a medical malpractice case for $5.1 million.

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