Comedian Mike Young Says Bob Saget was 'Best Person,' Spent 12 Years Touring

Bob Saget spent 12 years touring and collaborating with Mike Young ... and now the comedian's opening up about what Bob taught him, and how he plans to pay tribute to him on stage.

Mike was at LAX when he told us ... there's a good reason we've been hearing such glowing things about Bob. Mike says it's not one of those things where people speak kindly because someone's passed ... he makes it clear, Bob was the "real deal."

The comedian backed that up by dishing some details from his years on the road, opening up for Bob -- explaining he was such a nice guy, he'd seen him invite hecklers backstage afterward if he thought he'd hurt their feelings with jokes during the show.

You can tell how much Mike misses his friend and mentor ... he told us how Bob took him under his wing and showed him the ropes in comedy. They'd met for the first time on the set of "Entourage," instantly clicked and Mike started opening for almost all of Bob's standup gigs.

Unfortunately, Mike says he wasn't with Bob for his final show in Jacksonville -- he was scheduled to join him for a show in Palm Beach, kicking off a 20-city tour.