From the perspective of the Red Sox as an organization, I think they really showed a lot of class today.  In an age where professional athletes are holding out for more money and are becoming increasingly egocentric, we all have witnessed one of the most selfless acts in professional sports history.  Well, that might be a little overzealous, but it was truly inspiring.  Think of it like this: the defending champions were willing to sit out the first two games of the season so a few of the "lower management" employees could get the money they rightfully deserved.  And if you do not think that is meaningful, you have to look no further than the events of a year ago.  At the end of the regular season last year, the Red Sox won the pennant by a total of two games.  If that had been this year, and the Red Sox were forced to forfeit those two games in Japan, we would have the same record as the Yankees and would lose the tiebreaker because the Yanks took the season series 10-8.  In essence, this could have been the difference between making the playoffs and watching the Yankees competing in the Fall Classic.

What transpired today in front of our eyes was not just a team trying to help out the employees that had been overlooked by the MLB, but a community making sure everybody involved receives the same treatment no matter how seemingly insignificant their role may seem.  I'll bet no other team in the MLB, let alone all of professional sports, has that good a chemistry between the players and personnel.  That is why there are upsets; that is why the team with the best lineup on paper does not always win... because of the intangibles that you cannot necessarily put a value on. 

In the end, if players can look around the diamond at their teammates and say to themselves, "I know the guy to my right and the guy to my left has my back and would do just about anything for me," then that is more important than any batting average or on-base percentage could ever be.

It's times like these that remind me of why I am proud to be a Boston Red Sox fan.

Manny Ortez is a co-creator and senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.