Nicknamed "Tram", Trammell played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. In 1980, Trammell made the All-Star team for first time and won the 1983 MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award in the American League.

Trammell guided the Tigers to the 1984 World Series Championship and was named World Series MVP. The following season, Trammell became only the second player in Detroit history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases. Trammell also set a career-high with 75 RBI.

For his career, Trammell was a six-time All-Star selection, a four-time Gold Glove winner, a three-time Top 10 MVP, and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. In 2001, Trammell was rated as the ninth best shortstop of all time in "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract," rating him higher than fourteen Hall of Fame shortstops.

Alan Trammell was named the manager of a struggling Tigers team on October 9, 2002. He led the Tigers to the biggest turnaround in the American League since Baltimore's 33-game improvement from 1988 to 1989. In 2006, Trammell agreed to join the Chicago Cubs as bench coach. Four years later he became the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.