I think they are plenty cheap now. My daughters 12 YO softball team knocked several balls out of round this past summer. Each game started with 2 new balls. Usually one ended up oblong.
I'll never forget when I was a kid. My brother had a home run ball he hit that actually had a big rip in it he hit it so hard. (He played college ball) Don't ask me if they made balls much cheaper back then, but it had this big gash out of it. It was also his longest home run of his career.
I found it in his room and played fetch with our dog with it. He was "less than pleased" with me.