SEATTLE — The fateful return of Aaron Sele to the Seattle Mariners in 2005 has seen the Poulsbo native making a contribution to the team both on the field and off.

While he’s compiled an up-and-down 6-8 record while posting a 4.70 ERA this season, Sele has also become one of the pitching staff’s veteran leaders, offering advice to a team that is increasingly reliant on its youth and future success.

Whether it’s helping out reliever Raphael Soriano with his slider or talking with starting pitcher Gil Meche about his mental preparation, Sele, drawing on a storied career that includes 333 starts, is a respected figure for clubhouse consultations.

“That’s something I can pass on to help other players,” Sele said, following warm-ups and stretching prior to the M’s game with Texas July 2. “At this point in my career … It’s not about making all star games, it’s about being able to contribute to the team.”

The future of the 35-year-old’s career came into question a year ago, sidelined with shoulder fatigue, that kept him from finishing his third year with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Unwilling to retire, however, Sele strengthened his resolve and took aim at earning a slot with the Mariners in early 2005. Though his fastball didn’t quite possess the same pizzazz it had in years past, he made the necessary adjustments to impress the Mariners and signed for a $700,000 minor league deal.

“I think he’s shown that he’s a pitcher that can adapt and change his approach to compete from when he was younger to now,” said Pat Borders, often Sele’s catcher and fellow league journeyman. “And he’s shown he can beat good teams with that approach.”

It’s not his first time in Seattle: Following five years in Boston and two in Texas, Sele signed in 2000 a two-year deal with Seattle as a free agent for about $7 million per season. But it is different, he noted.

“I had to come back on a minor league contract and earn my way back on the team,” Sele said of this year. “I wasn’t necessarily an afterthought, but it was along those lines.”

One draw to Seattle was pitching coach Bryan Price, who Sele said is one of the finest in the league. The move also reunited Sele with M’s trainers Rick Griffin and Tom Newberg, whom Sele highly respects. Having worked with Sele before, Griffin and Newberg also knew of his shoulder ailments.

“If I was going to have to come here and earn my way on the team, I wanted to have the best staff,” Sele said.

One of his last outings, July 1 versus Texas was not Sele’s finest, put bluntly by his coach, Mike Hargrove.

“Aaron just missed his spots,” Hargrove quipped, in a noticeably bad mood during the Mariners’ continual slide at the bottom of the AL West standings. “And when you miss spots against those types of hitters, you pay for it.”

The night did not begin well, with Texas lead-off man David Dellucci taking the Poulsbo native deep for a 419-foot home run to right. Sele said the blast was deserved.

“I swung a slider middle of the plate,” he said following the game. “They’re supposed to get hit like that.” That wasn’t the worst of his worries, he added.

“The solo homers don’t bother you,” Sele commented. “It’s the two-out hits that continue to keep their rally going.”

Though it was an off night, Sele’s year has included the best of the best — a complete game shutout against the San Diego Padres May 22 for one — but also outings like July 1. He’s had streaks on both side sof the coin, winning four of five in a stretch and losing four of five in another. But that’s baseball, Sele noted.

“You’ve got a 162-game season,” he commented. “You know you’ve gotta play hard every day but you gotta do it six months. That’s the challenge.”