After spending 40 years in baseball, including 26 at the major league level, there isn't much that former Seattle Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer hasn't seen or accomplished on a baseball diamond.

So when the 48-year-old World Series champion threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Bellingham Bells game Wednesday, July 20, it was a little surprising to learn that it was the first time Moyer has been called on for such duty at any level. With 267 career wins to his credit and counting - assuming Moyer is healthy enough to pitch again after undergoing Tommy John surgery in December and receives an invite to spring training - it's not likely to be the last time he steps on the mound.

"I'm home for a summer," Moyer said before the game. "It's the first time in 40 years that I haven't been playing baseball. I'm staying busy and I'm enjoying life. I haven't said I'm done yet. Baseball might have already told me that I am but I'm not ready to listen. We'll see."

On Wednesday, Moyer watched a pitchers' duel unfold at Joe Martin Field between the Bells and the West Coast League Western Division-leading Corvallis Knights. Nick Hoover allowed just two hits over seven innings for Corvallis and the offense provided some support as the Knights won 4-0 at Joe Martin Field.

Corey Moore delivered the big hit for Corvallis (24-14) when he singled in two runs in the fifth. The hit was just the third given up by Bells starter Kyle Schepel up to that point, but it gave the Knights all the breathing room they needed. A one-out triple by Kramer Scott led to another run in the seventh making it 3-0. The final run came on a sacrifice fly in the eighth and effectively put the game out of reach for the Bells (18-18) on a night when they couldn't get much going at the plate.

While the Bells loss wasn't what the crowd of more than 600 was hoping for those in attendance did leave with a unique souvenir. As part of the special night and to honor Moyer the team gave away a bobble head of the pitcher wearing a Bellingham Bells uniform. Though the crafty lefty never played for the Bells nor did he play in Bellingham during his career he is a member of the Bells' advisory board and the team's owner, Eddie Poplawski, wanted to honor his friend for his accomplishments on the field as well as off.

"We've been saying all along that what we're trying to do here is about more than baseball," Poplawski said. "What Jamie and (his wife) Karen have been able to do to help people through their foundation is an amazing example of that."

The Moyer Foundation, a non-profit organization started by the Moyers in 2000 to help children in distress, has raised millions of dollars over the last decade for its cause. On Wednesday $1 from every ticket sold to the Bells game went to the foundation. Poplawski also matched the amount.

"We had no expectations when we started," Moyer said. "We just wanted to figure out a way to help these kids. We've had a lot of help along the way. It's just kept growing and growing. It's something I'm very proud of."

Before the game Moyer also took part in a youth baseball camp hosted by the Bells along with the Bells' coaching staff and a few players. He said he had a simple message for the 80 or so campers who came out for the experience.

"It's all about having fun," Moyer said. "That's what I wanted them to know. I was playing in a golf tournament last weekend with some other athletes and television types and while it was a lot of fun it just didn't feel like reality. Then I come out here and I see all of these little kids, some of them have their shoes on the wrong feet or their hats are off center, and it just felt so right to me. It was baseball. It was real. I think there is something really special happening here in Bellingham."

That feeling seems to be flowing through the Bells as well. Bellingham has won 12 of its last 18 games and sits in second place in the WCL's Eastern Division. With just a few weeks left in the regular season the Bells are in position to make a run at the postseason.

Of course the Bells' recent run also plays into another one of Moyer's philosophies on sports and life.

"I've learned in my life and I think through my baseball experiences that you have to try not to put too much expectation on things," said Moyer, whose son Dillon Moyer also plays for the Bells but has been out with a hip flexor injury. "You have to just take it as it comes. When you put too much expectation on things and then things don't meet your expectations it's kind of a downer. You just have to think let's have fun and go with the flow."

CORVALLIS 4, BELLINGHAM 0

Corvallis 000 020 110 - 4 8 1

Bells 000 000 000 - 0 2 1

WP: Nick Hoover. LP: Kyle Schepel. Highlights: (Cor) Corey Moore 1-5 2 RBI Kramer Scott 2-3 2 R; (Bell) Eric Lane 1-4.