Former two-time All-Star closer Bobby Jenks revealed Saturday that he is battling Stage 4 stomach cancer.
Jenks, who recorded the final out of the 2005 World Series to wrap up the Chicago White Sox’s four-game sweep of the Houston Astros, is currently in a Portugal hospital. His family moved there last fall to be closer to his wife’s family.
“Now it’s time to do what I got to do to get myself better and get myself more time, however you want to look at it,” the 43-year-old Jenks told MLB.com from his hospital bed. “I’ll tell you one thing: I’m not going to die here in Portugal.
“They are not going to put any numbers on it. I wouldn’t even want numbers. You hear stories all the time, ‘Oh, they gave me six months, 25 years ago.’ I don’t buy into that. Whatever happens is going to happen regardless.”
Meanwhile, Jenks’ family also lost their Pacific Palisades home last month in the Los Angeles fires.
As for the health issues, Jenks began experiencing blood clots late last year. The first was in his calf and a few others reached his lungs. In January, his energy was low and he had to take a break to rest when walking from his couch to the bathroom.
Jenks underwent more tests and eventually a CT scan pinpointed that he had a tumor in the middle of his chest. Jenks said the tumor spread into his stomach lining, bones, hips and lower back.
Some intense inner bleeding issues have occurred, leading to Jenks undergoing radiation to get it under control. Doctors are still determining how they will handle the tumor.
“It’s awful to think about,” Jenks said. “It’s just been a whirlwind.”
Jenks lost nearly all of his baseball memorabilia in the fire. He does still have his 2005 World Series ring.
Jenks reached the majors in early July of the White Sox’s memorable season — the club’s first World Series title in 88 years. He had four saves in the postseason, including two in the World Series.
He was an American League All-Star in both 2006 and 2007, and recorded a career-best 41 saves in the first of those campaigns and 40 in the latter.
The next three seasons, he had 30, 29 and 27 saves before departing as a free agent following the 2010 season. He struggled in one season with the Boston Red Sox and underwent offseason back surgery before he was released in July 2012, ending his baseball career.
Overall, Jenks went 16-20 with a 3.53 ERA and 173 saves in 348 career relief appearances over seven seasons.
If healthy, Jenks plans to manage the Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League for the second straight season. The franchise plays in Crestwood, located about 25 miles southwest of Chicago.
–Field Level Media
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