Bush led the 1923 Senators to a fourth-place finish and a 75-78 record, two positions higher in the standings and seven fewer losses than the 1922 team. In October 1923, and despite the improved record, team owner Clark Griffith fired Bush as the team's manager. The shift drew criticism from the Washington press, and one newspaper even urged a boycott of the Senators over the firing of Bush. Griffith initially declined comment on his release of Bush, but as criticism intensified, Griffith said in a written statement that he found Bush "incompetent as a manager, failing to maintain discipline among the players, utter disregard of the development or use of young players, favoritism and indifference when the ball game was over as to ways or means of improving conditions." The Senators went on to win the 1924 World Series under new manager Bucky Harris.