March 20 (UPI) — Former Chicago White Sox World Series champion Bobby Jenks, battling stomach cancer, announced Thursday that he is holding a final autograph signing event to raise money for medical bills.
Jenks, 44, is being treated for Stage 4 adenocarcinoma, after having just lost his house in the Pacific Palisades, Calif., wildfire earlier this year.
Jenks was the closing pitcher for the White Sox when the southside Chicago club swept the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series. Jenks, a rookie that season, pitched in each game.
His first pitch that year was clocked at 102 mph on the stadium scoreboard, and he went on to become a dominant closer in parts of his 6 big league seasons.
In addition to his dominant pitching, Jenks was also widely known for his stocky frame, developed, he admitted, by his less than healthy eating habits and off the field lifestyle.
“You know, the [expletive] I was doing in my 20s and early 30s, no normal person would have survived,” Jenks told MLB.com. “So, in one way, I’m grateful to be alive. In another way, I’m not surprised this happened. It goes to show you have to take care of yourself from top to bottom with nutrition and exercise and having a good daily plan.”
“We stand with you, Bobby,” the White Sox posted last month on Instagram. Many fans on social media credited Jenks as among the biggest reasons the team won the World Series that year.
Jenks will hold the autograph signing in Sintra, Portugal, where he lives with his wife and two of his six kids. He moved there to be closer to his wife’s family. The event is scheduled for Sunday.
He abruptly changed his lifestyle following the cancer diagnosis in January, after having just relocated to Portugal, he told MLB.com. He had been having health issues related to a deep vein thrombosis in his leg, which developed into multiple blood clots in his lungs and was receiving treatment when doctors discovered a tumor in the center of his chest.
“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,” Jenks said. “I’ll tell you one thing: I’m not going to die here in Portugal.”
Jenks just completed his first season as manager for the Windy City Thunderbolts, an independent professional team that plays its games in Crestwood, Ill., a suburb about 30 miles south of Chicago.
