Residents of Thorne Crest Retirement Center got a tease of the baseball season when Ron Gardenhire, LaTroy Hawkins and Al Newman all stopped by on Wednesday as part of the Winter Caravan of the Minnesota Twins.

The manager, relief pitcher and third-base coach for the Twins were gracious to their hosts.

&uot;You mean everything to us,&uot; Gardenhire told the audience of about 60. &uot;It means everything that you support us and cheer for us like you do.&uot;

The three Twins answered questions from the audience, posed for pictures with residents and signed autographs.

The crowd was ready. Many residents had paper hats on with the &uot;TC&uot; emblem on them.

&uot;Some of the girls made them at the craft meeting yesterday,&uot; Eunice Jensen, of Albert Lea, said.

Jensen wore her hat with pride, saying that she was happy to have seen the Twins players and coaches.

&uot;I think it’s wonderful,&uot; she said. &uot;&uot;I’ve been looking forward to it.&uot;

Jensen said she hopes she can get to a Twins game this summer.

Pitcher LaTroy Hawkins got a surprise when the mother of the woman who started the LaTroy Hawkins Fan Club asked him for his autograph.

Jo Meyer, of Albert Lea, stood up and told him about her daughter and asked him to sign a few items for her.

&uot;I had met him before,&uot; she said. &uot;But I was very happy to get his autograph.&uot;

Meyer showed her &uot;Hawk&uot; hanky, which is much like a Homer Hanky except that it has a picture of a hawk in the middle.

Albert Lea resident Del Krasky had Gardenhire sign two Twins magazines.

&uot;They’re for my grandchildren,&uot; he said. &uot;I never thought I’d see the manager out here too. It was really great.&uot;

Krasky said he and his grandkids are huge Twins fans. He knew they’d be happy.

Newman, who played infield for the Twins during their championship seasons of 1987 and 1991, was pleased by the reception.

&uot;I was hoping that if you guys took a bus to one of our games you could wear those hats and we’d know that there was a group representing Albert Lea,&uot; Newman said, smiling. &uot;I’m just glad to have fans like you cheering for us.&uot;