THE FRONT ROW WITH GARRETT CABEZA: Aug. 13, 2015

I learned that Jamie Moyer is a pretty good guy when he tossed a baseball to my brother and I in the right field seats during batting practice at Safeco Field before the start of a Seattle Mariners game in the early 2000s.

Actually another fan caught the ball that was intended for me, but Moyer made sure the fan gave the ball to me.

It happened on or around my eighth or ninth birthday.

I don’t remember the entirety of the event when Moyer showed his generosity, but my dad was standing behind my brother and I pointing down to us, signaling to Moyer to throw us a baseball as fans bigger than I were shouting, reaching and hoping they would get a baseball.

MOYER FINALLY did give my brother and I a ball, so I appreciate Moyer for his graciousness.

He probably wanted to throw my brother and I a ball since we were being crowded out of the picture by older kids and adults.

Moyer’s class and unselfishness showed again when the Mariners inducted Moyer into their Hall of Fame Saturday afternoon at Safeco Field before Seattle battled the Texas Rangers.

I remember watching the soft-throwing left-hander pitch on T.V. when I was a kid. He didn’t throw hard by any means, but the guy knew how to pitch.

Not only did Moyer not throw hard, but it looked like he wasn’t even trying to throw hard while he was on the mound.

While it appears some pitchers try to reach back and throw 100 mph, Moyer always looked like he was trying to throw batting practice speed. He just had that smooth, effortless delivery.

But since Moyer threw great off-speed pitches and could locate them where he wanted, he played in the big leagues for about a quarter of a century.

In 11 seasons with the Mariners, Moyer racked up a team-record 145 wins.

Moyer’s induction speech proved that he is probably a 10 times better man than he was a pitcher in the major leagues.

JUST AS you might expect, it seemed Moyer tried to turn the fans’ attention away from himself and instead tried to focus on how important his family and teammates were to him during his career.

He recognized the eight men — most of whom he played with — who have been inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame and he showed a highlight reel of three of his favorite moments in which his teammates made big plays for him during a start.

Moyer also apologized to the Mariners’ starting pitcher that day, Mike Montgomery, for delaying his outing.

Moyer will be remembered for playing on some of the best teams in Mariners history, including the 116-win team in 2001.

He also played with some of the best Mariners players of all-time like Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson and Ken Griffey, Jr. All of those players are in the Mariners Hall of Fame.

Moyer was a part of six winning seasons while in Seattle.

But as good a pitcher he was, I will remember him as a better man.

Garrett Cabeza is a sports intern for The Press. Contact him at [email protected].