When 2023 HOF candidate Jeff Kent was criticized for making African-American players feel unwelcome 

Jeff Kent, a former second baseman in the league, once found himself in hot water when a teammate accused him of making black teammates feel unwelcome.

Secondbaseman Jeff Kent #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers makes an over the shoulder catch on a pop up by Dustan Mohr of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 5, 2005 in Denver, Colorado.

Former Dodgers teammate Milton Bradley made the accusations against Kent. It was Kent’s lack of discipline as a leader and his inability to mix with his black teammates that led to his downfall with his teammates.

Milton accused Kent of not being able to deal with African-Americans and condemned racism, even though Kent thought it was a joke.

“The problem is, he doesn’t know how to deal with African-American people,” Bradley said. “I think that’s what’s causing everything. It’s a pattern of things that have been said — things said off the cuff that I don’t interpret as funny. It may be funny to him, but it’s not funny to Milton Bradley. But I don’t take offense to that because we all joke about race in here. Race is an issue with everything we do in here.”

Talent aside, news like this could very well have been the slightest of hindrances in his quest for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ken was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 MLB Draft and has played in major league baseball for a total of 17 seasons. He plied his trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jeff Kent is a National League Most Valuable Player Winner

Kent made his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in April 1992. He then went on to play for another five teams in his career.

He achieved success in San Francisco when he won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000.

"2000 National League MVP. Jeff Kent (.334 with 33 HR and 125 RBI)" - OldTimeHardball, Twitter

Kent is also a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Awardee and has his name inscribed forever on the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame.