When his playing days were over, Bobby Jenks — one of the heroes of the 2005 World Series championship for the Chicago White Sox — went out to get what he called a real job.
But it did not take Jenks long to realize his heart was still in baseball.
“It was with a big advertising company,” Jenks said. “It was a whole four-day hiring process. I got hired. They told me to come to work Monday. I was driving home and I said, ‘Nope.’ I called them right back and said, ‘I quit.’
“It was just more of a motivation to me, a realization of knowing that baseball is my life.”
Jenks decided to get into coaching, and that has brought him back to Chicagoland. He’s in his first season as the manager of the Frontier League’s Windy City ThunderBolts in Crestwood.
“I love being back in Chicago,” Jenks said. “Even before I got the Windy City job, just coming back here in the winter whenever I could, it’s always awesome coming to Chicago.
“All the best moments in my career happened in this city. The White Sox fans are always going to be in my heart, and this will always be my second home.”
Jenks, a right-handed pitcher, was a two-time All-Star as a closer. He piled up 173 saves and a 3.53 career ERA over seven major-league seasons between 2005 and 2011.
He spent six seasons with the White Sox before finishing his career with the Boston Red Sox. As a rookie in 2005, Jenks got the last out of the World Series as the White Sox won their only championship in the last 107 years.
For T-Bolts like pitcher Buddie Pindel, having a guy with that resume as your team’s manager is pretty cool.
“We hear some good stories,” Pindel said. “You’ve got to ask him about it. He doesn’t really like to boast about his own skills, but obviously we look him up on YouTube, watch the last out of the World Series.”
Jenks is not the only pitching expert with MLB experience on the T-Bolts’ staff. Chicago native Larry Rothschild is a part-time pitching consultant for the team.
Rothschild spent 35 years coaching in the majors. A manager for four seasons, he was the pitching coach for the Chicago Cubs from 2002 to 2010.
“He’s great,” Jenks said of Rothschild. “He’s been around some of the best in the world. The amount of stuff he knows and the experiences he can pass down to these guys on a different level, it’s an absolute benefit to us.”
The Windy City job is Jenks’ second as a manager, following a 2022 stint with the Grand Junction Rockies in the Pioneer League. He also has two seasons of experience as a pitching coach.
He said he enjoys coaching young players who are trying to move up the ladder in the minor league baseball world.
“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea how the game is supposed to be played, and I’m doing my best to teach these guys all that I know,” Jenks said. “With these guys, you just keep pounding on the door and one day they’re going to get it.”
The T-Bolts are 28-39 and sit in seventh place in the eight-team West Division of the Frontier League. But they have played better since the All-Star break in mid-July, going 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Pindel, who is 6-4 and leads the league with a 1.81 ERA, said pitching for Jenks and Rothschild has made a huge difference in his career.
“With Bobby, every day I learn something new,” Pindel said. “Even if it’s just a simple little grip or telling me to change my eye level on a certain pitch. Larry’s not around as much, but when he is, I try to pick his brain a lot.
“As a pitcher, having these guys on my side, it’s awesome.”
