In the midst of Saturday\u2019s pregame celebrations of the\u00a0White Sox\u2018 2005 World Series championship team, there was a palpable absence among the player alumni. A name that came up frequently.<\/p>\n
Bobby Jenks bookended the 2005 World Series, earning the save in Game 1 and Game 4.\u00a0He passed away on July 4\u00a0in Portugal after battling adenocarcinoma, a type of stomach cancer. During the team reunion ceremony prior to Saturday\u2019s game against the Guardians, multiple teammates mentioned his name, and Mark Buerhle \u2014 whose statue was unveiled on Friday \u2014 brought out a bucket of beers for his teammates to toast on the field in Jenks\u2019 memory.<\/p>\n
Though former sox catcher Toby Hall was not on the 2005 team, he accompanied Jenks\u2019 wife and children on the field, something Jenks requested of him in his final days. The two became friends when they were Sox teammates in 2007 and 2008, and they worked together for the Windy City Thunderbolts, a Frontier League team based in suburban Crestwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t just a great player, he wasn\u2019t just an \u201805 champ, he just was an amazing person and he would have been a big-league manager,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe always talked about let\u2019s get back to the big leagues, let\u2019s go coach. He put a stamp on a lot of good people and a lot of good kids and he made me better.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his post-playing days since retiring after the 2011 season, Jenks earned a reputation as an excellent manager of the Thunderbolts. His colleagues and the guys who played under him are universal in their praise for the man Jenks was, both as a human being and as a manager.<\/p>\n
\u201c[He\u2019s] a great coach and a great influencer to the next generation because that\u2019s what he got,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThat\u2019s why he won a World Series here in Chicago, is because how he was taught, how he was mentored. All I can say about it is just I want people to remember him, not just as the \u201905 champ. I want them to remember him as an amazing person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenks big-league career merits attention alongside his character. He tallied 173 career saves and was a two-time All Star, in 2006 and 2007. When he debuted, his triple-digit fastball was something of an anomaly, so much so that Jenks could be considered ahead of his time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBobby is one of those guys you could have picked up in 2004, 05, 06 and dropped him into this game today and he fits right away,\u201d Paul Konerko said. \u201cBobby was again ahead of his time for what he was featuring back then.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was almost alien like how hard he threw and with his curve, that was the thing. No one had seen that type of mix, I don\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sox will wear a commemorative patch on their uniform sleeves with Jenks\u2019 number 45 for the rest of the season, and his number is behind the pitching rubber on the mound at Rate Field.<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s reunion was a part of a season-long celebration of the 2005 team, one that broke an 88-year championship drought for the White Sox, stretching back to their 1917 title. The \u201905 team still garners a lot of excitement for Sox fans, even two decades later. Pope Leo XIV\u2019s Sox fandom has been well-documented already, including his appearance in the television broadcast of Game 1 of the World Series, and on Saturday he added to that, sending a signed custom jersey for Konerko that was presented to the former first baseman.<\/p>\n
The importance of the 2005 team is not lost on the current squad, even as they work through an organizational rebuild. Saturday\u2019s 6-2 loss to Cleveland was a sloppy one, and it was emblematic of the problems the current White Sox are facing as they try to take steps toward being something close to their counterparts of 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
Still, the experience of having the \u201905 team around is a positive one for the current group, including manager Will Venable, whose playing career overlapped with a few members of the Sox\u2019 last championship team.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the very first event that I had in the offseason I\u2019ve been around these guys and have heard stories and certainly understand why they are celebrated and why that group is special. To continue to be part of the celebration is awesome and I feel fortunate to be part of it,\u201d Venable said.<\/p>\n
Forging a connection with the organization\u2019s past means something to Venable, even though his playing and coaching career had several other stops before coming to Chicago. He wants the same for his players.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to understand the White Sox family and history a little bit,\u201d Venable said. \u201cAnd these guys, the guys that are around us wore the same jersey and it\u2019s important to understand their path and connection and also to be around these guys and see how special that connection was and it was so special that it resulted in a World Series championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we know how much that means. To be around these guys at all is something we can learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Jenks was not there on Saturday, his memory left an imprint. Like it did with his former teammates and the players he managed, Jenks\u2019 memory will undoubtedly have an impact on the current White Sox team.<\/p>\n
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