Robert Scott Jenks (born March 14, 1981) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

from 2005 through 2011. According to the ''Baseball Almanac'', his fastest pitch was clocked at on August 27, 2005, at

Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the wes ...

. He also threw a slider,

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and a hard, sharp-breaking

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

. Jenks is third all-time in saves by a pitcher in a White Sox uniform. Jenks is a two-time All-Star who formerly held the major league record for retiring consecutive batters (41).

Amateur career

Jenks was not able to play with his teammates at

Timberlake High School Timberlake High School is a four-year public secondary school in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Opened in 1998 at the south end of town, it is the second high school in the Lakeland Joint School District #272 of northern Kootenai County and draws its stud ...

, in

Spirit Lake, Idaho Spirit Lake is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho. The population was 1,945 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 1,376 in 2000.Inglemoor High School in

Kenmore, Washington Kenmore is a city in King County, Washington, United States, along the northernmost shore of Lake Washington. It is a suburban commuter town at the mouth of the Sammamish River, northeast of downtown Seattle and west of Bothell. The population ...

, because of poor grades. Jenks did play his sophomore year of high school for Lakeland High School before Timberlake High School was opened in 1998. Since Jenks was ineligible to play the remaining years of his high school career due to poor academic performance, he played in the Prairie Cardinals American Legion program where he dominated as both a pitcher and hitter. During his final season for the Prairie Cardinals, Jenks had 123 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched.

Professional career

Anaheim Angels

Jenks was drafted by the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

in the fifth round (140th overall) of the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

. In one minor league game, the radar gun clocked his fastball at 100 mph. During his time with the Angels organization, Jenks spent much of his time on the disabled list because of elbow trouble. Jenks' career with the Angels ended when he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the team in December 2004.

Chicago White Sox

On December 17, 2004, Jenks was claimed off of waivers by the

for $20,000. He was sent to the club's Double-A affiliate, the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

to begin the 2005 season, posting a 1–2 with 19 saves and a 2.85 ERA in 35 appearances. Jenks was called up to the major leagues by the White Sox on July 5, 2005. The White Sox made it to the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

, and Jenks pitched in each of the Series' four games. The White Sox won the series in four straight games over the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

, and Jenks pitched a total of five innings and made the series' final pitch. He recorded saves in Games 1 and 4, had a blown save in Game 2, and pitched scoreless 11th and 12th innings in the 14-inning Game 3. Jenks and

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

are the only rookie closers to earn a save in the clinching game of a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

In 2006, Jenks was selected to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

All-Star team, and finished the season 3–4 with a 4.00 ERA while converting 41 out of 45 save opportunities in 67 relief appearances. Jenks was again selected to the

All-Star team in . On September 25, 2007, Jenks was named as one of 10 finalist for the "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award". In 2007, Jenks pursued a record streak of retiring consecutive batters. On August 10, 2007, Jenks retired his 38th consecutive hitter,

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began hi ...

of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

, to tie the

record for most consecutive batters retired in a row, set by David Wells between May 12, 1998, and May 23, 1998, then with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. On August 12, 2007, in a game against the

, Jenks retired his 41st consecutive batter, the Mariners' Yuniesky Betancourt, tying the Major League record held by

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

pitcher Jim Barr, set over two games on August 23, 1972, and August 29, 1972. On August 20, 2007, Jenks allowed a base hit by

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

outfielder

Joey Gathright Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Early life Gathright attended Bo ...

, ending his streak of 41 consecutive batters retired. However, Jenks was still able to get a save during the game. Jenks' record is unique in that the previous record holders were starting pitchers. Wells' achievement bookended a perfect game that he pitched on May 17, 1998. Barr's achievement was spread across two games, neither of which was a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. In contrast, Jenks was perfect for 14 appearances over 27 days (July 17- August 12). His teammate Mark Buehrle broke the record for most consecutive batters retired on July 28, 2009, ending with 45 in a row. On January 19, 2009, Jenks avoided arbitration and signed a one-year, $5.6 million contract. On December 2, 2010, the White Sox declined to tender him a contract and he became a free agent.

Boston Red Sox

After the 2010 season, Jenks signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the

on December 21, 2010. Jenks struggled for much of 2011 with injuries, going on the disabled list three times during the season. On September 13, 2011, the Red Sox announced that Jenks had been diagnosed with a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...

. He pitched in 19 games during the season, going 2–2 with an ERA of 6.32.

Surgery complications

On December 12, 2011, Jenks had another surgery, this time to remove

bone spur An exostosis, also known as bone spur, is the formation of new bone on the surface of a bone. Exostoses can cause chronic pain ranging from mild to debilitatingly severe, depending on the shape, size, and location of the lesion. It is most common ...

s from his back. He was supposed to have only two removed. According to Jenks, Dr. Kirkham Wood, head of the orthopedic bone unit at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

(MGH), started to remove a third bone spur and didn't finish it. This allegedly created a serrated edge that later sliced Jenks' back open in two places, causing him to leak spinal fluid and triggering an infection in his spine. Jenks was forced to undergo emergency surgery on December 28, only two weeks after his first back procedure. Due to his muscles being "torn open," as he put it, Jenks was bedridden for seven weeks. The Red Sox placed Jenks on the 60-day disabled list, and ruled him out for at least the first three months of the 2012 season. On July 3, 2012, Jenks was released by the Red Sox. He sued Wood in 2015 for malpractice after learning that Wood was operating on a second patient at the same time as his operation. Jenks told ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' that he would have had his bone spur surgery elsewhere had he known about the overlapping schedules. On May 8, 2019, Jenks reached a settlement with MGH and Wood for $5.1 million.

Coaching career

Beginning in May 2021, Jenks served as the pitching coach for the

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

of the MLB Partner Pioneer League. Following the 2021 season, he was promoted to manager following the retirement of the team's previous manager Jimmy Johnson.

Personal

Jenks is remarried to Eleni Tzitzivacos, and has five children. , he lived in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

. Jenks became addicted to painkillers shortly after his back injury and at one point was taking "probably up to 60+ pills a day. And, on some days that was probably on the low side." Between March and July 2012, he was arrested and charged twice for driving under the influence of painkillers.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenks, Bobby 1981 births Living people Chicago White Sox players Boston Red Sox players American League All-Stars Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Butte Copper Kings players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Arkansas Travelers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Arizona League Angels players Salt Lake Stingers players Birmingham Barons players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Mission Hills, Santa Barbara County, California