Chicago White Sox 2005 World Series Champs Toast To Beloved Teammate Bobby Jenks

Several members of the 2005 World Series teams spoke about what Jenks meant to them as a teammate on Friday. Here are the memories they shared.

Mark Buehrle: "I’m sure I’ve lost teammates over the years, but losing somebody like that. He’s a little kid in a big-man body, always goofing off, always having fun. Not having here, hearing that news, it hit me a little harder than I thought it would when I first heard of it. It’s definitely very sad. ... He was throwing 100 before other guys were throwing 100. He just had nasty stuff. He had a dominating presence out there. He was just feared. Guys look out there and see this big dude out there. I know I was scared of him in the clubhouse a few times, like, ‘I’m not getting on this guy’s bad side.’”

Ozzie Guillen: "That man was special for everyone. Whoever talked to you guys, they will tell you how special Bobby was. Special. He’s a baby bear. He had a closer mentality but when he left the mound it’s like, ‘We go to DisneyLand tomorrow. Ok.’ That type of guy. To me, the real family Bobby has with my respect to his two wives and to his kids, the only family he really had was the White Sox players, the White Sox organization, coaches. He know exactly they love him. And good or bad, they will tell him right away what’s going on. ... We are going to miss him? No, because people when they die and they forget them, you know nothing. You never die when people will remember you every day, every time. You never die, you just left. That’s what it did to him."

Jermaine Dye: "We are gonna miss one teammate, Bobby Jenks, a special teammate, a special friend, a special guy on our team. I know fans probably didn't get to see the Bobby Jenks behind the scenes like we did, like some of you guys may have. They saw him as a hard-nosed closer when he went out there, but we saw the other side of him, a great guy who joked around, smiled a lot, and he's definitely gonna be missed. ... I mean, I always liked to poke fun with him. I would come behind him, and he does not like to be tickled or touched, so I used to tickle him a lot. He used to play with my kids when they were younger. So that's just Bobby, a real jokester, played pranks a lot on guys. It's just sad that he's not here with us."

A.J. Pierzynski: "We'll talk about Bobby and just what an awful situation it is. He's missed, and you just feel for his family, and it's just an awful situation. ... He was 100 before 100 was commonplace. I remember he first came up, his first game, I had never really even seen him. And they're like, 'This guy throws 100,' and I'm like, 'Excuse me?' Because back then, 95 was really hard. So when he hit 100, and he came in the first game with 98, 99, you're like, 'Woah, this is different. And he could control it, and he also had other pitches he could throw because he came up –– people forget he was a starter for a long time in the minor leagues, so he had multiple pitches, not just one. His presence was unbelievable. Once he got out there and got comfortable, his presence was amazing, once he took over the closing role. The thing we always said was if he didn't walk anybody, they weren't gonna score if we had a two or three-run lead, because nobody could string together three or four hits off Bobby because of the stuff he had. So he was one of the best. He had a great run those five or six years, and again, he'll be missed. But he was power pitching before that became what it is today. I think today, if he had the radar guns and stuff today, he might be like 105 because it was a heavy 100 with cut, it was good."

Joe Crede: "I talked to [Aaron] Rowand right after we found out, and I was at a loss for words. I was at a loss for words even when I was on my farm, he was just such a great guy. We had a lot of great times here. Even after we won, he was a great teammate, great to joke around with on the bus rides and stuff. But yeah, he's gonna be missed tremendously."