Ken Oberkfell will be entering his first season as Newark Bears manager.

Oberkfell, 55, spent 16 seasons in the major leagues as a player with 6 different clubs (St. Louis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston and California). The former infielder had a career batting average of .272 and twice led the National League in fielding percentage for a third baseman (1982 and 1983). He made his major league debut on August 22, 1977 with the St. Louis Cardinals and was a member of the Cardinals 1982 World Series Championship team.

Since retiring as a player in 1992, Oberkfell has been field manager in the Northeast League and in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets organizations. He spent five seasons as the Mets’ Triple-A manager, earning Baseball America’s 2005 Manager of the Year honor while in Norfolk. In 2011, he was on New York’s major league staff, serving as Mets bench coach.

Oberkfell has managed Escogido de Leones in the Dominican Winter League the last three seasons, winning the Caribbean Series in both 2010 and 2012.