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A little preventive umpiring would go a long way in this situation. An umpire on the ball, may ask the catcher why s/he threw the ball to F5. If the catcher states that s/he thought it was strike three, no penalty. If the catcher gives any other answer than that, ball four would be the call.
Granted, this isn't always going to be the first thing on the umpire's mind, but I guarantee you that I, as the umpire, will be thinking to myself, "Why did the catcher throw the ball there?" I will probably also be checking my indicator to see the count and may even take a glance at my partner for confirmation of the count. If I can just remember to verbalize my question to the catcher, I'll have it covered.
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Irish, I have to disagree. The rule says you award ball 4. That's what you award. It doesn't matter what the catcher THOUGHT. It matters what he or she DID. What the catcher DID was violate a rule that has a specific penalty attached. The penalty is assessed, and hence, ball 4.
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