Tom Krasovic: Justin Verlander’s announcement recalls Padres’ 2004 draft blunder

So Justin Verlander is calling it quits, effective at the season’s end.

There’s Padres-related history to explore with Verlander, 43.

With it comes many groans.

San Diego passed on Verlander as part of the infamous, franchise-rocking decision to draft Mission Bay High School’s Matt Bush with the first overall pick in 2004.

Had the Padres chosen Verlander and tweaked the Old Dominion alum’s delivery, as the Tigers did soon after selecting him No. 2 overall, the best innings-eater of his generation could’ve headed San Diego’s rotation for many years.

As a National Leaguer, Verlander would’ve pitched against pitchers, rather than designated hitters. His annual ERA would’ve fallen by about a half run, per DH and no-DH data of that time.

The Padres would’ve boasted a generational monster atop their rotation as soon as 2006, when Verlander won the American League rookie of the year award with Detroit, while the San Diego rotation featured next year’s NL Cy Young winner, Jake Peavy.

Recall also that Petco Park, from its opening in 2004 until its remodel in 2012, played as big as Yellowstone National Park.

Not that the DH rule greatly impeded Verlander, a nine-time All-Star.

Many times over, the ace rewarded Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski and scouting director Greg Smith for drafting him one spot after Kevin Towers and Bill Gayton — their options reduced by Padres owner John Moores’ stated opposition to drafting Scott Boras-assisted prospects Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew — selected Bush, the easy-to-sign but troubled shortstop turned pitcher.

Verlander helped Detroit reach its first two World Series in decades. He led the league in innings three times as part of chewing up 200-plus innings in eight consecutive seasons.

Dombrowski had displayed an unwavering faith in betting big on hard throwers.

Unfazed by power-righty Kyle Sleeth breaking down soon after he took him third overall in 2003, Dombrowski and Smith, a former Padres scout, became dead set on taking Verlander if the Padres didn’t.

Why didn’t Towers and Gayton choose Verlander?

Foremost, the Padres generally didn’t like him as much as the Tigers did.

In fact, they preferred Weaver and Drew.

But Moores all but blocked his scouts there. He was openly critical of their adviser, Boras, saying he didn’t trust him. The two had clashed in the Kevin Brown talks that ended with Brown joining the Dodgers, months after Brown had led the Padres to the 1998 World Series.

Moores was subjected to other kinds of pressure, too. Legal complaints had delayed Petco’s construction. Those complaints all failed in court. But in the interim, the price of steel rose. Padres ownership bore that cost.

Even though Moores’ baseball staffers whiffed on Verlander and failed miserably in choosing Bush, Moores put them in a tough spot. He in effect removed two players who would both pan out as big leaguers.

Someone with the Tigers correctly foresaw that shortening Verlander’s stride would sharpen his control. Untroubled by his 21-18 college record and bursts of subpar accuracy, the Tigers’ duo touted the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder’s “electric” combination of size, velocity and a powerful curveball.

Signing Verlander wasn’t easy.

David Verlander, the pitcher’s father and a union organizer with experience in sticky negotiations, said a contractual impasse led him to negotiate directly with Smith, leading to a deal, per CWA-Union.org.

The sides agreed on a $3.12 million signing bonus, which was less than the $3.15 million bonus the Padres paid to Bush, who was advised by Jeff Moorad.

The Boras-advised Weaver and Drew, who went 12th and 15th to the Angels and Diamondbacks, respectively, got $4 million apiece — but they and Verlander each got major league contracts, increasing the value of all three deals.

It wasn’t until close to the 2005 draft that Weaver was signed. He nonetheless returned great value to the Angels.

Verlander went on to pitch for the Astros after GM Jeff Luhnow obtained him at age 34 from Detroit.

Verlander became a better pitcher with Houston, benefiting from the tech-and-data-driven edges the Astros provided him. Verlander embraced high-speed camera data, eventually dropping his two-seam fastball and limiting his rising fastball to high in the zone. Prodded by high-speed imagery, he adjusted his slider grip.

He won his second and third Cy Youngs with the Astros, and now stands 266-159 with a 3.33 career ERA in nearly 3,600 innings.

For baseball’s hungriest fanbase, he represents a case of what might have been.