Time to get hyped for the first round of 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers

Pregame festivities are shown at AT&T Park before the final game of the World Baseball Classic between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu/AP)

Play in the 2017 World Baseball Classic technically begins this year, 2016, on Thursday in Sydney, Australia. The first qualifying matchup between South Africa and New Zealand starts at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday night and will be streamed live on MLB.com. Then, the Philippines will take on Australia on Thursday at 3:30 a.m. ET -- which you can watch live on MLB Network and MLB.com:

Scenes from Sydney as South Africa, New Zealand, the Philippines and Australia prepare for their shot at the #WBC. pic.twitter.com/S4k26FdJ6S — WBC Baseball (@WBCBaseball) February 9, 2016

The four teams will compete in a qualifying tournament, with the winning team earning a spot in the main draw for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. All six games will be available live and on-demand at no charge on WorldBaseballClassic.com for fans in the United States and Puerto Rico.

There are a million reasons to be excited about the WBC and, specifically, this first qualifying tournament: The Phillipines team is managed by former Major Leaguer Tim Hulett. Team Australia features Royals reliever Peter Moylan, whose path to the Majors was rekindled during the 2006 WBC. The New Zealand squad has two softball players in the mix -- Tyron Bartorillo and Daniel Lamb-Hunt. Gift Ngoepe made history when he became the first black South African to sign a professional baseball contract after joining the Pirates organization in 2008.

So, really, this first tournament is the honorary start of the WBC -- which means it's time to get hyped. Sure, the main event isn't for another year, but we'll have international bragging rights on the line this week and a chance to start dreaming of all the great things the WBC has to offer.

Think about it: We're going to get to watch our favorite Major Leaguers do their thing on an international stage. Sure, we get to see 'em every day during the summer, but don't you want to see David Wright hit an "international salami?"

Or Hanley Ramirez crush a home run that make it seem more like the Out-of-this-World Baseball Classic?

Players tend to bring it in the WBC because the competition is, you know, the world.

Speaking of -- we'll get to watch all the non-MLB players again, too. Do you remember watching Alfredo Despaigne demolish baseballs in 2013?

And when Shinnosuke Abe homered twice in an inning?

We got to watch Kenta Maeda baffle hitters almost three years before he signed with the Dodgers?

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This time, there'll be even more new faces. Melissa Mayeux has already talked about trying to make the French team, which plays its qualifying rounds in March:

16-year-old French shortstop prospect Melissa Mayeux takes part in the 2015 European Elite Camp.https://t.co/52OK2Z3jm4 — MLB (@MLB) August 4, 2015

And maybe, just maybe, we'll see Shohei Ohtani pitch ...

AND hit:

So, as you see, for those trying to imagine Major Leaguers of the future, the WBC isn't a bad place to start.

Finally, just recall how fun the last WBC was. You had entire stadiums jumping up and down:

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You had team Italy celebrating a home run by doing a chef's kiss:

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Just like MLB, you had dugout pranks:

And you had the Dominican Republic team doing Fernando Rodney's arrow to the sky after they clinched the championship:

The Qualifiers mark the beginning of all that -- so, are you excited, or what? Check out the full broadcast schedule here and make sure to watch the WBC Qualifiers. You'd hate to be lost when the event starts next year, right?