I've recently had both bearings on one side disintegrate whist racing in my B4.1 FT WE. I've got the newer FT 0deg ali rear hubs with the larger outer bearing, which I believe are the same parts as the B44(.1):
One thing I did notice, and attribute as the cause is the play in each hub and outer hinge pin, which is loose in the hub, and not the wishbone. There was also play of the bearings outer race in the ali hub carrier. This was present from new build.
I resolved this by drilling and tapping the bottom hinge pin carrier, and tightening it up with an M3 grub screw, which solved the hinge pin play by keeping it tight on the ali, and allowing the plastic wishbone to wear instead. I also seated the bearing in the carrier with a light smear of blue tamiya threadlock to seal the bearing outers in place. This took care of the bearing play and ensured the bearings don't rotate in the hub. It's also easy to push the bearing out when needed. The last thing I did was put two more shims in each axle to get rid of the last bit of play. It's all play free now, so hopefully my replacement bearings will last a bit longer.
I'll add my gut feeling is that the play in everything out the box is there to allow your parts to wear quickly, requiring spares to be purchased.