Yes, the ball has to be pressed out. Each end of the hole has a chamfer and metal from the ball shank is peened into that space (larger than the bore), so that metal should be removed so that the ball presses out more easily. The way I did it was to drill the center of the shank (not all that far in) with a drill bit not much smaller than the shank. That gives that metal in the chamfer somewhere to go (gets squeezed into the hole you drilled.) I used a ball joint press.
If you're going to taper ream the holes after pressing the ball out, I'd recommend removing the steering arms first (same for pressing out the balls) so that you can get the reamer lined up correctly. The steering arm comes off without removing the spindle. Just the two lower spindle attaching bolts need to be removed.
