One day, Dickie Scullary stepped to the plate and overheard an opposing pitcher ask, “Is he really 72 years old?’’

Scullary politely informed the disbeliever he was 75. The pitcher blanched.

“You can’t kill him!’’ bellows Chris Currie, manager of the Framingham Orioles, smiling as he describes the Medfield resident.

Scullary has never lived a conventional life. He has gone for the gusto, the thrills, the pure excitement of taking chances. And he isn’t stopping — either on or off the field.

Scullary owns two vintage Corvettes. He also has a pair of Harley-Davidsons. “I was 55 when I learned how to ride a motorcycle,’’ he says. He goes to the gym six days a week, and is partial to Pilates.

But his real love is baseball. He plays the game year round, competing in three summer leagues. “I play five games a week sometimes,’’ he says.

“The average age of our team is 33, 34,’’ Currie says.The Framingham Orioles were founded 23 years ago, and Scullary came aboard the second season. Ever since, he has steadfastly been one of the first players kicking up dust on Sunday mornings at Long’s Field in Framingham, where the Orioles play their home games.

“I haven’t had a Sunday off in 22 years,’’ Scullary says. That’s his own fault, and he knows it.

It’s an unbroken love affair. “I’m the oldest player in the league by far,’’ he says. “I’ve been the oldest player since I started. I can still do this. As long as I’m healthy I’ll keep playing. I don’t think I embarrass myself.’’

Not one bit. At 5 foot 6, 155 pounds — “my doctor said I’m shrinking’’ — Scullary’s hitting in the .270s. Some of the young pitchers throw the ball 85 miles per hour. Scullary never flinches.

“I’m worried because he doesn’t want to bail out. He leads the league in getting hit by pitches every year,’’ says Hopkinton resident Stan Pulnik, who played for the Orioles until he was 57 (“I should have stopped at 54’’).

Scullary usually plays both games of a doubleheader. When he gets on base he refuses a pinch-runner. “I pride myself on running for myself,’’ he says.

He’s a lefty batter who sprays the ball all over the field. Scullary still beats out infield hits. “I’ve only hit one home run in my career, but it was a grand slam that beat Hopkinton,’’ he says. Pulnik is certain Scullary has played in more games than anyone in the widespread Boston Men’s Baseball League.

Scullary also plays in a 38-and-over and a 55-and-over league. In the winter he plays in Arizona and Florida leagues.

Scullary suffered an Achilles injury a couple of years ago. “A few days later he was back with the team coaching first base with his leg in a cast,’’ says Currie, who is 46 and the Orioles’ catcher. Currie played high school ball at Marian in Framingham and lives in Uxbridge.

When Currie’s dad, John, died last November, Scullary bought decals with Currie’s father’s initials for the Orioles to wear on the bills of their caps. “That’s the type of person Dickie is. He’s like a father to all of us,’’ Currie says.

Currie once asked Scullary what the secret was to his athletic longevity. “He said it was because he never married.’’

Well, that needs a little adjustment. Scullary confided to a reporter that he was married once. “But only for a year.’’ Baseball was his mistress.

Scullary taught marketing courses at Bentley College (now University) for eight years and worked in the gas industry for 25 years before retiring. It set him free to pledge his entire allegiance to baseball.

Scullary will have to retire from the grand old game some day, but don’t hold your breath. “I appreciate that teams still want me.’’

The Sunday morning games have been second nature to him forever, it seems. The ritual is always the same. “I get up around 6, have a light breakfast, take a couple of Tylenol, and drive to the field for early batting practice.’’

Scullary keeps his Corvettes and Harleys at home and drives his pedestrian car, a 2006 Nissan Maxima, to the games.

He has broken down barriers, maintained his young-at-heart spirit, and found pure joy on a ball field.

Seventy-five?

It’s just a number, like a batting average. Dickie Scullary is still circling the bases. Watch him run.

Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs@aol.com.