 In his first full MLB season , Gilligan played for the Cleveland Blues . After his first game with the Blues , the Cleveland Leader stated " Gilligan caught exceedingly well taking some fine pickups . " Over 52 games played , Gilligan batted a career @-@ low <unk> with 11 RBI and six doubles . Defensively , he played 27 games as catcher and 23 as an outfielder . Next season , Gilligan continued to play for the Blues , serving as backup catcher to Doc Kennedy before leaving the team at the end of the season to sign with the Providence Grays . With the Grays , he served again as a backup catcher before the starter ( Emil Gross ) became injured ; on the season , Gilligan batted .219 with 20 RBI . Next year , in 1882 , Gilligan became the starting catcher for the Grays ; his backup , Sandy Nava , was the first Mexican @-@ American baseball player . When the season was over , the Grays finished 52 – 32 , second in the National League ( NL ) , under manager Harry Wright . 
