Baseball may look different when the 2017 season starts.

When a pitcher gets rattled on the mound, the idea of a veteran heading over to pat him on the back may soon be a thing of the past. The same could go for coaches as the sport tries to shorten the length of games.

According to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, Major League Baseball is discussing limiting mound visits.

One proposal being discussed -- with "still a ways to go," a person in the loop cautioned -- is limiting mound visits at least by teammates, if not by coaches and managers as well. The players understandably have been more hesitant to disrupt the pace to which they have become accustomed, and just as they negotiated the terms for when a player can legally exit the batter's box during an at-bat, concepts are being exchanged for when a pitcher can receive a visitor. For instance, there is a desire to see an exception made for when a pitcher and catcher are confused on signs.

While the report--after Davidoff's conversation with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred--makes little seem imminent, it's clear that baseball is desperately trying to take games under the three-hour mark for fans.

This particular proposal doesn't limit pitching changes (something that had come up in the past as a possibility), but would stop chatter around the mound. In theory, the pitcher--other than if there was an injury--would have no reason to do anything but take the ball and pitch.

Banning infield shifts?

Last season, the average length of a game was 3:00:42. In the postseason--including the epic Game 7 of the World Series between the Cubs and Indians--games routinely went over that length.

Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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