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It’s Time to Change the Narrative About The 2005 White Sox

Recently, White Sox closer Bobby Jenks died after a long battle with adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Several tributes were made to the 2005 World Series champion, one of which (ESPN) mentions him being simply “on the roster,” which sparked all kinds of conversation about the drought-breaking team from two decades ago.

Today, let’s take some time to remember the White Sox closer and showcase the true dominance of the ’05 roster.

The Career of Bobby Jenks

Jenks’ professional career began in 2000 with the Anaheim Angels’ Organization, spanning from rookie ball to AAA. His stats weren’t incredible, to say the least, but they also weren’t horrible. After an ERA over 7 in his first season, Jenks’ ERA hovered anywhere between 5 to 2 in the next few seasons within the Angels’ system (ignoring the 19 ERA 2004 appearance with Rancho Cucamonga.)

Jenks was claimed off waivers by the White Sox in December of 2004, and sent to Chicago’s AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons. In 35 games with the club, Jenks racked up a 2.85 ERA, earning 1 win and 2 losses, alongside 19 saves. He was called up to the White Sox mid-season and began his major league career.

He didn’t initially start out as the closer for the White Sox. In fact, he earned only six saves during the regular season in 2005, being utilized more in a standard reliever role. He played 39.1 innings across 32 games, pitching to a 2.75 ERA and an 11.4 SO/9.

He became the closer during the 2005 Postseason; he pitched three shutout innings in the ALDS against the reigning champion Boston Red Sox, earning two saves. He appeared in all four World Series games against the Astros, pitching in 5 innings, and earning a 3.60 ERA  after blowing a save in game 2. Not to worry, however, Jenks recorded saves in games 1 and 4, and threw two shutout innings in game 3, which went to 14 innings.

Following the World Series win, Jenks took on the role as the White Sox closer for the next five years- pitching well. Jenks recorded 30+ saves in three straight seasons, and recorded 29 saves in 2009. Jenks would struggle in 2010, seeing his ERA rise to 4.44, which caused Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox Manager, to demote him. The White Sox let him walk in free agency following the season, and Jenks would make the move to Boston for the 2011 season.

Jenks would further struggle in beantown, and would turn to painkillers such as Percocets to deal with pain in his biceps and back that sat him out multiple times. An MRI revealed that Jenks had bone spurs in his back that were causing further complications, such as a pulmonary embolism and colitis.

Jenks would undergo surgery to remove the bone spurs in December of 2011; however, Dr. Kirkham Wood left a serrated edge in Jenks’ back that would slice open part of the membrane in his spine, causing a leakage and further complications that nearly killed him. This would be the end of Jenks’ career, as he would opt for surgery that would effectively end his career, but improve his quality of life. Dr. Wood was sued by Bobby in 2015.

The 2005 World Series

The White Sox were a force throughout the 2005 world series- one of the most memorable sweeps in sports history. This includes fantastic pitching from both the starting rotation and the bullpen, huge moments like the Paul Konerko grand slam, the Podsednik walk-off home run,  and the 14-inning game 3 that saw Chicago score two runs in the top of the 14th.

What causes this iconic world series to go disrespected is down mainly to two things; game four, and The White Sox themselves.

To start things off- most of the highlights from this series were mainly from games one through three. game four was a 1-0 shutout win in Minute Maid Park. If anyone were to watch the final outs from this game, it is an unceremonious end to an otherwise fantastic series- a groundout to Juan Uribe to end one of the most awkward world series games outside of 2003’s game six (ironically another mediocre team’s championship season.)

Now, its not that nothing didn’t happen in that game- it was an absolute pitcher’s duel. Freddy Garcia recorded seven strikeouts across seven shutout innings, with Houston flipping between Brandon Backe and future Phillies World Series closer Brad Lidge.

It also doesn’t help that the White Sox haven’t been anywhere near good since clinching the illustrious title 20 years ago. The team has made the playoffs only three times since 2005, losing in the ALDS twice, and losing the 2020 AL Wild Card to the Athletics. Other than that, its been 60-70 wins every single year barely moving from third or fourth.

it’s hard to blame MLB fans for forgetting that baseball’s Chicago-based misfit was able to put it together for one season in one of the most dominant performances of the 2000’s. However, with the passing of Bobby Jenks shining more spotlight on the legendary run, it should not be regarded as anything less than iconic.

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